From noon 'till night
by oddbird
Summary: A story of a man named Foxface and how he rode the west on his way to learn to dance with a hawk. NarutoxSasuke, Western AU
1. The Duchess and the Dirtwater Fox

**Name:** From noon 'till night  
**Author:** Ibilintu/Aryna  
**Pairing:** NaruSasu  
**Rating:** eventually M  
**Warnings:** MxM relationship, some crossdressing  
**Disclaimer:** Characters belong to Kishimoto Masashi, I'm just borrowing and making no profit at all.

**A/N:** I can't write anything new right now, my both hands are all wrecked up, but I have a couple of chapters for this one ready, so... Yeah. Cowboy stuff yiihaa xD Idk. Hope you enjoy this, although it's quite a slow start.

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For Didi

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**Chapter 1**

For a town as new as Soundsville, its reputation was quite a dubious one. Ever since it had been founded by an unknown man, it had been a place where all the outlaws nested. Despite the rather polished exterior, it was a place where half of the men you passed had a bounty offered for them, a town famous for being a place where no-one would ask for your name, and where the sheriff would shut his eyes from your past crimes. It was a home for several old outlaws that had gathered enough wealth to settle down and maybe start a family in a place that wouldn't let them be hunted down. Yet in Soundsville, they weren't old because the town was peaceful enough. They were old because they were quick enough drawing their revolvers.

In Soundsville, when you were not exactly loved by the authorities, you were free to come and go as you pleased; you only had to remember to not ask stupid questions and never sell out your fellow criminals to anyone outside the town. It was a place where everyone was on their own yet you could always feel safe when it came to the law. No sheriff and very rare bounty hunters were daring enough to enter the village that was so full of men that would've gladly seen them dead. The criminals backed up each other as long as it didn't mean any danger to themselves. In the saloons whiskey was not expensive, mood-lifting fist fights broke out around a few times an evening and hookers were young and wild. For the nymphs du prairie, Soundsville was a well-paying place to work; the best outlaws had the most money to spend.

For some young men, Soundsville was a place where they would go to prove their courage and show off to their friends. For some of them, it was the end of their road, and many of the rest ended up on a path of an outlaw, being influenced by the atmosphere in the town.

But had you wandered to the town without knowing a thing about it, you could've easily be fooled and think it was just an ordinary town, like the ones closest to it.

As said, it was rare for a figure of authority to enter such a mouse trap, but Naruto Uzumaki had never thought of himself as one. He rather thought that he was a free soul, roaming across the land with his horse as his only companion, a man that took the chance whenever he encountered one. It was quite an easy profession for someone like him, he was the bright type that no-one would've suspected to be after the highest rewards offered for the outlaws. Yet he was, hiding behind the name Foxface and using all his skills to capture whoever he was after.

Rarely had he been systematically hunting for a certain man, but now he was. It had been long months of no profit for him, most of the most wanted outlaws having been hiding from the hand of law - or him. Now he had finally decided to check the wanted posters for the one man that he had been wanting to capture since he had started this type of life, and that was why his path was now taking him to the direction of the infamous Soundsville.

The reward offered for a man they called Rattlesnake had brought many young and brave men to that town, and none of them had yet to come back. Naruto, on the other hand, had decided to be the exception. He would hunt down Rattlesnake from his cave and drag him out, dead or alive. It would be a dangerous mission, but he was not a man to be afraid of a challenge.

And there he was, approaching the town on his dirty brown horse lovingly named Whirl after the way its fur oddly swirled on its croup, his face carefully hidden under an old stetson hand and a ragged cloth covering his mouth and nose and protecting them from the dust. There was sweat rolling down his temple but other than that he didn't look too tired, the way he sat on the horse was relaxed and confident. The bounty hunter didn't seem to be the slightest bit nervous as he neared the place that was known as a a death trap for men like him. And maybe that was the case for real. He had nothing to lose, but so much to win.

Snake's Lair was quite a weird name for a saloon, but in this town no-one found it questionable. In fact, it was the most popular place to spend your nights with the best whiskey and best women available during the whole night. Maybe it was a bit more expensive than some other places you could visit to get your head full of alcohol, but it was also definitely the most entertaining place in the whole town. With somewhat clean and wealthy-looking exterior, it could almost be mistaken to the truly chaste places somewhere out there. The owner kept his saloon in a shape, and it was bringing him loads of money every night.

And as always, Naruto had chosen to start his chase from the saloon. While stopping briefly at the town closest to Soundsville he had heard storied about a saloon called Snake's Lair, and for all he knew that sounded like a perfect place to start his search for someone called Rattlesnake. The town was nowhere near quiet as he rode down the main road, studying the buildings with interest. The houses were in surprisingly good shape, many of them looked freshly painted and there was just a few bulletholes to be seen and one broken window in a building that looked deserted. All in all, it was not a place he would've thought was the home for so many men with a bounty offered for their heads. He made sure not to look too shady as he eyes the windows and other places where someone could hide to shoot you, and once he even stopped to ask a bunch of kids where he could possibly find the saloon. The oldest of the kids, a boy who couldn't be more than ten, gave a despising look and told him to go down the street. The saloon would be on the right side of the street and there was a bar to tie his horse to and water for the animal as well.

Naruto thanked, not too politely, and soon found out that the kid had been right. The saloon itself was easy to spot, it was in the best place of the town and one of the best-looking buildings around. The paint on the outside was new and he couldn't see even a single scratch on it, and the water trough was filled to the brink, with a couple of horses standing next to it and looking they had been there for a while already. There was large sign over the doors that had the name, Snake's Lair, and a picture of a rattlesnake preparing to strike painted on it. The hint was obvious, and the blonde couldn't help but to appreciate the Rattlesnake's courage. He was obviously feeling safe in this place. As Naruto watched, a loud bark of laughter carried to his ears from the doorway and a sound of a glass bottle breaking immediately followed.

The young bounty hunter took his time as he tied Whirl to the bar and checked his very few belongings. He would either not stay here for long or get a room if this saloon also offered rooms for travelers to stay for the night. Adjusting his hat, Naruto made his way to the doors and slipped inside, being greeted with the most lively saloon he'd probably ever been in.

His eye was immediately caught by a couple of girls dancing on the stage, their skirts rising every time they kicked their legs in the air and flashing sinfully big amount of skin for the cheering men to see. They were laughing as they danced, obviously enjoying the attention, and at the side of the stage there was a small man playing piano, giving the women something to dance to. The melody was playful and wild, just like the dancers, and Naruto could immediately feel himself starting to tap his thigh along the rhythm of the music. His face light with a bright smile when one of the dancers, a pretty blond with rather generous cleavage, winked at him, but he didn't have the time to play with the ladies right now.

After waving at her quickly the bounty hunter ran his gaze over the hall. There was lots of table and most of them were occupied with men drinking, gambling or just watching the dancers or singing along with the song. There was also some women, most of them being there for obvious reasons, sitting on the men's lap and laughing with them, but there was also a couple of ladies that Naruto could tell had been doing lots of illegal stuff during the years. He recognized a certain redheaded girl with long boots and a trashy attitude, she was said to be one of Rattlesnake's subordinates. The blonde felt the corner of his mouth tug as he turned away and headed to the bar counter, the satisfaction for having hit bull's eye spreading through him. If that woman was here, then he could be almost certain that he'd found Rattlesnake's very own lair with the first try.

Some of them were born lucky.

Letting out a delighted laugh, Naruto took a seat in front of the bar counter and ordered the strongest drink this place had to offer, lowering the scarf in front of his face as little as he could. The whisker-like scars on his face would attract too much attention, and he was sure some of the men here had heard about Foxface, and not in a positive way. He did not want any kind of special welcome from these people.

A couple of whiskeys later Naruto had let himself loosen up a little seeing that nobody seemed to pay much attention to him, save for a couple of curious hookers trying to figure out if he had enough money to pay them for a night. No such luck, the man was on the road with very little money it seemed, and after a moment both women wished him good night and headed back to other tables. The way their hips swayed as they walked made Naruto wish he wasn't so careful with his money; he could've easily afforded a night or two or three with those two, but not knowing how long he was going to stay here he didn't dare to put even half a dollar to waste, and that was what women were for the most part.

Calling out for the guy behind the counter and telling him to bring the blond a new whiskey, Naruto turned to look at the stage again, four girls on it now. A couple of them were rather nice to look at, but his favorite was still the blond from the time he'd arrived. Letting out a little sigh Naruto grabbed his glass and tugged his scarf down to chug down the alcohol, feeling nicely relaxed thanks to it. He was not being reckless, he knew perfectly fine where his limits were, but he could still down a whiskey or two without blacking out. And that was exactly what he was going to do, he had already asked for a room to stay and gotten one, so now he only had his research to do, and people would find him less suspicious if he downed some firewater before that.

"If you think they're good, you'll be dropping your eyes later today."

Naruto almost choked on his whiskey, coughing helplessly for a moment before turning to look at the man that had just spoken to him. He quickly studied the guy's appearance, taking in the long-ish white hair and wrinkles face, and came to a conclusion that this wasn't one of the men he should worry about while staying here. Relaxing visibly Naruto pulled his hand away from his revolver and glanced at the man, flicking up the rim of his hat after pulling up the scarf to hide his scars again.  
"What do you mean, old man?" he asked casually, smiling through the scarf.

"Oh, I'm sure you will understand soon enough... Although, lad, I have to say, you chose a good day to arrive. She performs only three times every week, and this happens to be one of those days. See, this place is packed already?"

And as Naruto glanced around he saw that the man was right. There were no unoccupied chairs around yet unlike in many other saloons he'd visited during his life, no-one here was trying to fight for a seat. The men were just standing next to the walls and watching the stage where the dance girls had just ended their performance, receiving more or less excited clapping as a reward. After that the lights were dimmed on the stage for a moment, but the attention of at least half of the crowd was still drawn there.

"What's going on?" Naruto asked, not even realizing that he had lowered his voice. The atmosphere in the saloon had changed dramatically, as if everyone was expecting something to happen, and Naruto had to admit that it was catching him as well.

The old man chuckled and shook his head at the younger male's spirit, glancing down at his own glass of whiskey. The glass was almost empty and he let out a sad sigh before bothering to answer Naruto's question.  
"I already told you, just wait. You'll see soon enough."

Naruto squirmed, immediately trying to figure out the best ways to drag some sort of hint out of the man, but it appeared that it wasn't necessary. Before his own whiskey glass was empty, a single spotlight type of thing went on on the stage and the crowd broke cheering, the noise dying the second a single foot slid to the view.

The foot was soon followed with an entire leg, and one hell of a leg that was. Long and lean, covered with slim leather boots all the way up to the knee where they ended, revealing a piece of pale skin covered with fishnet tights. The other leg was exactly the same and way too soon after the boots the lean thighs were hidden under black fabric. The hem had two layers, one of them black and the other on top red, the colors serving as a striking contrast to the cream-colored skin.

Naruto watched in fascination as the woman stepped under the light and then let his eyes eat up all of her. She had a beautiful body, the black corset holding her waist in a perfect curve with the red laces, and there was a black-and-red frill in the upper part of the dress. It left her shoulders and collarbones bare but hardly revealed anything of her cleavage, yet somehow Naruto didn't even need it. The way her moved was enough to prove him that she had to be most womanly woman he had ever seen. She kept her face hidden in the shadows, but Naruto could make out delicate features and bright red lips, as well as a flash of onyx black eyes. Her hair fell to her back like a dark waterfall, being long enough to almost reach her waist even when it had been gathered up to his neck with a red feather accessory there to emphasize the hairdo.

Had she not been so pale Naruto would've sworn he had to have Indian blood in her veins. But regardless of that, he could easily tell that this woman was more beautiful than any creature he had ever seen before.

Just as captivated as every other man in the room, Naruto followed with his eyes as the woman walked over to the piano, the sound of her boots clacking against the floor of the stage being the only sound in the room. She sat down, and the countless pairs of eyes gratefully took the flash of her slim thigh before she adjusted her dress. She didn't stretch, didn't prepare, but just placed her hand on the keys and began playing.

The song started off quiet and serene, the simple yet beautiful melody flowing out of the piano as the slender fingers effortlessly flew over the keys. The woman looked like she was completely lost in the music right from the first note, her head was bowed and Naruto knew her eyes were shut even if he couldn't see them. As he listened, the melody started to grow and get more strength, the blonde leaning forward on his seat. He felt like something was going to happen, the atmosphere became more tense and excited, it was like waiting for an explosion. He didn't dare to look around in fears of missing the climax, the moment that was drawing closer. It was a wild, wild song, he had never heard if before but he could tell it was a story about freedom, he could almost feel the wind of the plains on his face, and what an intoxicating feeling that was. The music was still getting faster and Naruto didn't even realize he was holding his breath until it was suddenly over.

She had stopped, her head hanging like she had just finished a long run and her fingers rested on the keys, silence filling the room. Nothing happened in a few seconds, everyone was still waiting, holding their breath, and as they watched the woman lifted her head and took a deep breath, sliding her fingers on the keys. She pressed one down, the soft note fading quickly, but she didn't give any more room to the silence. Another note followed, and then another, and another, until a new song was being played. Or maybe it wasn't new, just continuation to the previous one. The melody was similar but overall the song was different, very sad and somehow tragic. It was a melody that stuck to you and made you think of a trapped animal, a bird in a cage.

Naruto slouched a little, still on the edge of his stool, and waited for something to happen. Why wasn't the melody turning happier, why was the song still so sad? His eyes studied the slim frame of the young woman, trying to figure out if she was playing for someone special or just about her own feelings. He couldn't see anything, she looked just like before, and slowly the music faded out, leaving Naruto a bit uncomfortable. That was why he didn't like music like that, it always left him feeling uneasy and restless. Maybe she would play another happy song, to let go of the odd atmosphere in the room.

But she didn't. As they watched she slid up from her chair and offered her audience a small curtsy before moving to the center of the stage, under the bright light. Still she kept her head low, to hide her face it seemed, and her gaze was directed at the floor. From behind the stage a small man appeared to the sight and walked over to the piano, taking a seat and starting to play after a moment given to the audience to adjust.

She moved like she played, gracefully and lightly as a wild deer, and with every kick in the air her skirt offered them a little bit more of her legs. It was the same kind of dance that went on in most of the saloons in almost every night, but somehow it looked different when she did it. Naruto licked his dry lips, not even trying to look anywhere else, he knew he would've failed that anyway. Her dancing was holding his gaze like she was a charmed her, and even the men who had obviously lived here for long and had been watching her for so many times didn't make a sound. She was too beautiful to be interrupted.

It was only after her performance had ended and she'd left the stage when then audience broke into cheering and whistling, some cheeky comments being shouted after her. Naruto found himself joining the cheering, and his breath caught when he saw someone moving in the back of the stage, hidden in the shadows. He was having hopes of the woman coming back and doing something, if only to thank them for the applause, but he wasn't lucky enough. The person that appeared to the stage was the same piano player. He went to take his seat and soon enough the saloon was filled with music just like before, the gambling and drinking having started again like they had never stopped, and some of the guests slipped out of the door, probably returning home to their wives.

"I warned you."

Naruto was startled as the smug voice broke into his consciousness and then turned around to look at the old man. He was holding a bottle of whiskey in his hand and there was an amused grin on his face as he studied Naruto's face.

"She's one of a kind, yeah", the blond-haired bounty hunter finally admitted, rubbing his neck. Seeing that woman play had left him feel somehow itchy and he wondered if he'd have to buy a hooker for the night to get rid of the feeling. Hopefully they had some pretty brunettes around here, suddenly he didn't feel like fucking a blond at all anymore. His fingers toyed with the collar of his shirt and he frowned, a sudden thought invading his mind.  
"How much does she charge for a night?" She had to be pretty damn expensive, for looks like that.

Much to Naruto's surprise the man broke laughing, making him immediately feel stupid. Had he said something idiotic or had he accidentally drooled all over himself while watching the woman or something?

"Oh oh, sorry", the old man mumbled, wiping his eyes with the back of his hand. He poured the rest of his firewater into his throat and slammed the empty bottle to the counter before turning his attention back to Naruto.  
"That was just... How much..." He let out a drunken giggle again, obviously not noticing the blonde's discomfort.  
"No, seriously, I forgot that you haven't been here before. She doesn't do that stuff. At all."

Naruto frowned under the shadow casted by his hat and quickly spared a glance to the stage where a group of girls were dancing again.  
"Why not?" he asked, the short explanation having sparked his curiosity. Who was that woman if she didn't do any night work at all?

"Because Raven is the top girl of the house. She's the pet of the Old Snake as we call him, the owner of this saloon. He took her in years and years ago when she was still a kid, they say, and since then she's been here. Now she plays and dances a few times every week and as far as I'm concerned, the Old Snake pays everything for her. Although..." He lowered his voice and Naruto had to lean closer to hear clearly enough.

"Some say that the reason she doesn't work in the bedroom is that the Snake is keeping her all to himself." The old man let out a chuckle and shrugged after keeping a theatrical pause, waving at the bartender to bring him more to drink.  
"Who knows, that rumor might or might not be true. But it's certain that she is the star of this saloon and I bet she knows it. She never even speaks to anyone."

He started to grumble something to himself and Naruto stopped paying attention, having already received so much interesting information. An orphan girl, huh? That sounded quite perfect. And through the years she'd been trained to be the best of them all, to bring lots of money to her master. Sounded just like the usual story, but somehow this was different. There was something more to that, and Naruto's curiosity was being poked repeatedly all the time he spent thinking about the mysterious woman. Too bad she didn't sell nights, otherwise he would've happily spared even his last pennies and bought her, just for one night. Apparently many men in the room were thinking the same, but they didn't let it show that clearly. Only the longing looks thrown at the stage were telling Naruto that they craved for her return just like flowers yearned for water. They all knew she wouldn't come yet still they were hoping for a miracle.

That night, Naruto slipped up to the second floor to his room late at night, his head buzzing due to all the alcohol he had drank. He hadn't gotten a single glimpse of the siren of his night no matter how hard he had tried to look, and none of the free hookers had hard dark enough. In his drunken state, Naruto only wanted Raven, and when he couldn't have her he figured that it was time to go to bed. Easier said that done, though, because climbing up the stairs had felt like he was climbing to a mountain, but finally he got himself into the room. There the blonde just dropped to the bed face down and started snoring without bothering to kick even his boots off. Tomorrow would be a new day.

The sun came up and went down so fast Naruto didn't even notice until it was dark outside and the saloon was filling with people again. He had spent the day doing some very careful research about the owner of the saloon, warning bells having started to ring in his head last night. The old man he had spoken with had made it clear that the 'Old Snake' definitely wasn't the man selling them their drinks and it was pretty obvious that the man had not appeared last night at all. Judging by the way he had heard some of the customers speak about the man, he seemed to be quite a frightening person.

Naruto had even gone as far as inviting himself to a game of poker and nonchalantly he had asked if any of the players knew where he could find the Old Snake. When they had asked why, he had explained that there was something in his room he needed to discuss about with the owner. Not surprisingly at all one of the men had told him that if he had anything to say about the room, he could tell it to the bartender. The Old Snake never took interest in such matters as problems with room or such. In fact, he never seemed to take interest with anything. Even the regulars had seen him only once or twice, and he had always been with Raven.

That had made Naruto's thoughts fly as he immediately started planning. At this point he was almost sure that the owner of the saloon was indeed the notorious Rattlesnake, and what he'd just been told had to mean that the easiest way to drag out the snake would be catching his little songbird, and he could definitely find a subtle way of doing it. What would be enough? Trying to shoot her, probably, but he didn't want to do it. After that his cover would be blown and he'd have to leave the town, and coming back would be too difficult if he didn't manage to catch Rattlesnake all at once. There was also the risk of harming the woman, and Naruto didn't want to get too confident. He had a good aim but you could never know. Maybe she was the self-sacrificing type and she'd throw herself in front of the bullet or something. Just the possibility made Naruto's throat tighten.

The truth was, that after last night he'd spent at least half as long thinking of Raven as of Rattlesnake. It was like someone had glued her image to Naruto's mind, although the face was rather hazy in his memory, and it refused to go away. Every time someone took the stage he silently hoped that it would be Raven, and every time he was bound to be disappointed as someone else went to show off their dancing skills. Sure, he knew that she didn't perform every night but that didn't stop him from hoping.

That night he didn't dare to sniff around any more. Naruto didn't want to arouse any suspicions amongst the locals and asking around too much would've done just that. He had a few drinks, gambled a little and lost quite a lot of money and then went to bed, the image of Raven being the last thing in his head.

The next day was pretty much the same. He visited a local store and bought nothing, but the owner of the shop was so talkative that his visit had definitely not been for nothing. Naruto got to hear a story about how the Old Snake had come here just some ten years ago and then founded the town. It had grown fast at first but now the growth had slowed down as the reputation of the town spread further. Then something like ten years ago the man had disappeared for some time and then returned with the little black-haired girl now known as the pride of the Snake's Lair.  
"Have you seen her yet?" the sales clerk had asked and Naruto had nodded, a knot tightening in his stomach as he thought about her. It was so weird, why he felt so strongly towards her already when he hadn't even seen her face, but he hoped he'd get a chance to talk to her when Rattlesnake had been taken care of.

He had left the store satisfied and even more curious, all his senses tingling. Naruto knew that he was close, his instincts had brought him to the right place with the first shot and now he was just waiting, waiting for something to happen. He could stay here still for some days without appearing shady, and then he should come up with some kind of explanation for this little trip to the town. Right now everyone probably though he was yet another petty criminal hiding from the hand of law. That night he barely slept at all, his head so full of plans to catch the Snake.

But it was his fourth night in the town when he finally saw Raven again.

It was as if the locals knew she was going to appear. Since the beginning of the night the saloon had started to pack up, more customers pouring in in a steady flow until the place was just as full as it had been the night Naruto had arrived. The bounty hunter himself had taken a seat around the same spot he'd had that night, and to his surprise the old man was there again, drunk enough to pass out soon.

"Hello, lad. I see you're here for her again", the man greeted him and chuckled, lifting the bottle in his hand and taking another sip, the strong alcohol making him hiccup. His nose was reddish and his eyes didn't focus on anywhere when he turned to look at Naruto, a drunken smile on his lips.  
"I saw it in you immediately, you'd fall for her just like everyone else..."

A frown crossed Naruto's face and he adjusted his hat, pushing it to the back of his head. He wasn't going to drink any more and there was the scarf on his face covering the scars on his cheeks. No need to be too careful.  
"What do you mean?" he asked with carefree tone, but inwardly he was seething. He was not like everybody else, he had not just fallen for the show girl like the other men. It wasn't like that, he'd just thought the woman was beautiful.

"Oh, many young men have come here to be charmed by her performance, and most of them have stupid dreams about how they will be the first guys to convince her to give them a night. After that she'd of course magically fall for them and leave the Old Snake for them. That's what they've told me, at least,all drunk and talky-talky. Oh, and one even dreamed of killing the Snake and then taking her with him." The man sounded amused as he spoke, now staring at the bottom of his bottle. Looked empty to him.

Naruto couldn't help feeling stupid at the last comment, hearing his own plans from the other's mouth. Fine, maybe that had been stupid, but it was just normal to dream about things like that. What kind of young man wouldn't want such a beauty to their bed, after all? He cleared his throat and turned to the man, opening his mouth to say something, but a sharp wave of hand cut him off.

"Silence. She's starting."

Naruto whipped around, his eyes immediately catching the woman as she gracefully stepped to the stage, her hair now framing her face. The dress she wore was the same and she walked over to the piano just like before, with every man in the room watching her like she was a piece of meat thrown in front of a hungry wolf pack. She didn't seem to even notice the audience as she sat down and started playing, her fingers moving effortlessly on the keys of the instrument.

But despite of the similar performance, Naruto couldn't shake off the feeling that something wasn't right. The woman looked exactly the same as before, there was no doubt that she indeed was Raven, but when she'd walked to the stage Naruto had caught a glimpse of something... He couldn't quite catch it. Perhaps her head was hanging a little lower than the last time or maybe something had changed in the way she played, but everything just wasn't there. His suspicions were confirmed when someone suddenly broke singing as she played, catching the melody and adding words to it. Another woman, a busty redhead, walked to the piano and stood next to it as she sang. It was a song about the prairie and the animals that roamed there, the winds and the rain and the freedom. It wasn't the song from Raven's last performance, this one had been made for singing.

No-one else seemed to care, they just kept staring at her, but Naruto's senses were getting alert. She still played beautifully, not caring about the world, and when the song ended she nodded as a thanks and moved to dance.

Again, something was off. As beautiful as she was with her moves, there was something below the surface. Almost like a kettle that hid boiling water inside, the steam threatening to burst out at any moment. Naruto's eyes narrowed as he studied her, making sure to remember every curve of her body while trying to understand the sudden change, and then, all of a sudden, she raised her gaze and the blue eyes met a pair of midnight black ones. The moment lasted only for a brief second, but to Naruto it felt a lot longer.

She let go and finished her dance, gliding off the stage afterwards, looking like the dance hadn't affected her at all.

But Naruto, he was more determined than ever before to find her. He had to speak to her. He had watched her during two dances and she had never looked directly at anyone, not like that. Without really knowing what he was doing, the blonde turned to the old man, just to find him passed out on the counter, and then hopped off his stool. Making himself look as unnoticeable as he could, Naruto strode through the saloon towards the stairs that would take him to his room. There was another hallway that passed the stairs and Naruto had been strictly told to never go there. And that was exactly where he was headed.

No-one paid attention to a lone man strolling through the room towards the doorway that led to the stairs. Well, no-one that mattered, a couple of young women tried to attach themselves to his sides, asking if he wanted company in bed. Naruto had politely shrugged them off, winking and telling them that tomorrow night he was probably going to feel really lonely. One of them rolled her eyes but the other giggled and flashed him a smile before following her friend of a kind, back to the occupied tables. Naruto watched them go, appreciating the fluid swing of hips before he remembered what he had been doing, his legs taking him to the staircase.

The hallway that slithered to the inner parts of the building was dimly lit, just one lamp chasing off the shadows. It was not very effective, but the light from the saloon hall illuminated it enough to make it possible to walk through it without bumping into anything. Not that the chances of doing so were high anyway, there was only a couple of chairs and nothing more. Naruto glanced around quickly and slipped to the corridor, glad that it was a 'Raven night' again. There was enough hustle and bustle in the saloon to keep everyone's attention away from him.

Walking as close to the wall as he reasonably could, Naruto moved forward, keeping as little noise as possible. He thanked some higher powers that he had been sharp enough to take off the spurs from his boors before coming down to the bar; the metal implements would've made much more noise in the almost silent corridor. The man subconsciously slid his hand to his gun as he turned around the corner, almost sure that there would be someone there, ready to shoot an intruder like him. It wouldn't have surprised him, it was Rattlesnake's hideout after all.

A bead of cold sweat rolled down Naruto's temple and he tried to ignore the unnerving feeling. The atmosphere back here was somehow eerie, making him feel like he was tiptoeing around in a haunted house. Hair was standing in his neck and he scratched the back of his hand, trying to calm down his nerves. Seriously, nothing bad was going to happen. And almost immediately after that he heard a loud bang from behind a door he was just passing. The blonde jumped from surprise and pressed himself flat against the wall, his heart thumping as he waited for something else to happen. Seconds ticked by and he heard nothing, and slowly the blonde dared to move closer and press his ear against the door.

Immediately he felt stupid. Through the door he could clearly hear someone playing the piano there, and the bang had been someone hitting the keys quite too hard. Feeling like an idiot Naruto rubbed his neck and continued down the corridor, listening for a moment at every door. Somewhere here had to be Raven's room, and he was determined to find it, even if he'd get caught doing it. He could always pass as a crazed fan and get away with it. Or so he hoped.

Naruto walked past three more doors, hearing nothing but silence from the rooms they guarded. One of the doors had been open and it had showed him some kind of kitchen; he could only guess that it had to be Rattlesnake's private kitchen or something like that. The next door in front of him was open as well, not all the way but enough that he could get a glimpse of the insides if he so wanted, and Naruto grinned at himself, knowing that there had to be something to find soon. He had the feeling that he was getting closer to the more forbidden parts of the building, the Snake's personal rooms.

A low hissing sound caught the bounty hunter's ears and he stopped mid step, frozen to the spot. Slowly he turned his head, listening carefully as the noise continued and soon he realized that it was someone speaking. Excitement flooded through his veins as he came into the conclusion that it couldn't be anyone else but his main target, the feared outlaw he was hunting, and as slowly as he could he tiptoed closer to the door, taking a careful peek inside.

What he saw made him gulp.

A tall man with silky black hair stood in the middle of an ordinary bedroom, his back to the door preventing Naruto from seeing his face. He was wearing odd light brown robe-like clothing, and it was clear he was the one talking. Naruto would've of course recognized him without the voice, Rattlesnake had had that long hair as long as he could remember, and when the man flicked his hair off his face with a quick jerk of head, Naruto caught a quick glimpse of his profile.

But the thing that shocked him was that right in front of the outlaw stood the same dancer woman he'd been dying to see, with her head held up proudly and a scowl on her face. Her hand was up in the air, close to the Snake's head, and the man was holding her wrist tightly. It was clear that she'd just tried to hit the man.

Slowly the pale fingers unwrapped themselves around the slim wrist and the woman snagged her hand to herself, glaring daggers at the man. A low hissing chuckle emitted from the lips of Rattlesnake, the sound making a nervous shiver run down Naruto's spine. There was something in this man's presence, something very threatening and unnerving he couldn't quite catch. He'd never met anyone who'd affected him so strongly this way, but the blonde shook his head, knowing that they wouldn't have offered such a high reward for anyone less intimidating.

As he watched, the Snake reached forward to cup Raven's cheek, stroking the fair skin lovingly with his thumb. The woman shuddered at the touch but didn't move away, even the look on her face didn't change the slightest bit. The man chuckled again, his hand moving over to stroke her long shiny hair, the long fingers threading through it in an almost affectionate gesture.

"You danced well today, my precious..."

Rattlesnake had to had the most repulsive voice Naruto had ever heard. He hissed like a snake and he was sure his tongue had to peek out through his lips at times. The Snake was obviously speaking with low voice but still it sounded almost unnaturally high to Naruto, making him want to squirm.

"So well... They still love you. You see the look on their faces when they watch you, those mindless fools, they love you and wish you were theirs..." Rattlesnake stepped closer, running his fingers over the painted lips.

Raven's head jerked a little, away from the intimate touch, but a strong hand immediately grabbed the back of her neck, holding her still. The man leaned closer and Raven suddenly said something, the voice not reaching Naruto's ears. The blonde was, however, rather sure that she'd told the man to let go. He was staring at them almost as if he was hypnotized, not able to draw his gaze away from the twisted scene of possession and beauty in front of him. She was still so pretty, so amazing, and to think that this man, Rattlesnake, owned her... It was making Naruto's blood boil. He knew he could've grabbed his pistol and shot a bullet through the dark-haired head of the outlaw, but it was like the same hypnosis was keeping his hands glued to the wall in front of him. He didn't dare to move an inch, afraid to make noise or otherwise make his presence known.

"How ungrateful... You'd think I didn't raise you well, my beautiful... What would your admirers think if they saw you like this? No matter how long they dream, they'll never get to touch you... Only I have the right to do that." The man leaned still closer, close enough to brush his lips against the painted ones.

She snapped something at him again, and this time it seemed to anger the Snake. His hold of the slender neck tightened and she gasped in unexpected pain, starting to squirm. She grabbed the pale wrist, trying to yank it off of her, only managing to annoy her owner more. He gripped both of her hands and yanked them down behind her back, stopping for a moment to glare at her before latching his lips on her neck.

Raven's breath caught again but she held still, a look of utter disgust crossing her face. She kept her eyes at the ceiling as he continued to lick her neck, trailing little bites down it to her collarbones and even lower. Her brows were furrowed in an angry frown yet even while looking throughly disgusted and ashamed, she managed to hold such beauty that it took Naruto's breath away.

And that was when her dark eyes turned to look straight at the man peeking at them through the gap of the slightly open door.

TBC


	2. Hombre

**Warnings:** MxM relationship, crossdressing  
**Disclaimer:** Characters are property of a certain Masashi Kishimoto, I'm just borrowing them.

**A/N:** Most important things first, so... Thank you so much for all the reviews! I can't thank you enough, it made me so happy to read them Special thanks to Nikkapillar and Calamus for your amazing long comments. All you guys, you're amazing.

I really enjoy writing this fic although I shouldn't be doing it right now, my hands are getting worse all the time. But yeah... I can't really keep from writing so it can't be helped. I don't necessarily like this chapter at all, I don't like where it's going and blrgh, I have too much ideas for this piece of fanfiction. I'm just not sure which ones to use.

Oh, and what I forgot to mention in the first chapter's notes, English is not my native language so please bear with my mistakes in grammar u_u

* * *

For Didi

* * *

For a moment, Naruto's world stopped. The dark eyes held his gaze, the intensity and hatred almost startling him. He would've expected the woman to look defeated, maybe even scared, but there wasn't even a hint of either emotion. Her eyes were flaming and she look like she could barely hold herself from kicking the Snake off with her high-heel boots. There was shame, but it was so laced with anger it made Naruto shiver, and finally he blinked, his eyes drying.

It was like a spell had been broken. Rattlesnake lifted his head, turning to look at his most precious possession, his hair swaying gently as he moved.  
"What is it?" he asked with his slimy voice, turning to follow Raven's gaze to the door.

The oddly-colored eyes met Naruto's for half a second and the blonde was suddenly scampering backwards, almost tripping over his own feet as he rushed away from the door. He didn't really care about the noise he was making, but even through the loud stomping of his steps he could clearly hear an amused hissing laugh. The sound echoed in the corridor even after Naruto had turned around the corner and slowed down, relieved that he wasn't being followed. Perhaps Rattlesnake had mistaken him to a curious fan of Raven's, a fan that had just been given a very good lesson.

The bounty hunter walked up the stairs, his chest still heaving in sync with his breathing, and it didn't start to calm down before he had reached his room and turned the key in the lock, shutting himself in.

Closing his eyes, Naruto leaned his back against the door and tried to get himself back together. There were so many emotions mixed up inside him at the moment, the strongest ones being anger and excitement. The latter was for finding his target, and the anger... He couldn't stand the way the man had treated Raven. It was almost as if she was just something he owned, not a real woman, and the way Rattlesnake had claimed his ownership...

It took Naruto a moment to notice that his hands were curled into fists and he slowly let them loosen up again, rubbing his stubble thoughtfully. The blue eyes were open again and slowly a determined look set into them. The man pushed himself away from the door and drew his gun from the holster, a concentrated wrinkle between his brows. He wouldn't wait for long now that he'd found Rattlesnake, and he was so much more determined now to save Raven as well. He'd take her with him.

Minutes passed and Naruto couldn't shake off the tension from his shoulders. Even as he started cleaning his revolver to get rid of the tension, he had the feeling that someone was there, watching him from the shadows of the room. He knew he was alone yet the the feeling refused to leave him. It was still there as he finally gave up and let out a sigh, putting away the revolver and starting to undress for bed. Naruto did, however, keep his boots on; he had learned the hard way to sleep with them.

He grumbled something to himself and blew out the candle that was his source of light. The sheets felt a bit rough against his skin but he didn't mind, not after having had no bed sheets for a long time. His eyelids slid down, the light lashes fluttering softly and Naruto sighed again, rolling over to his side. And then to his back. And then the other side. And then he gave up, feeling uncomfortably sweaty under the thin blanket he'd been given. The blonde pushed himself off the bed again, starting to walk a small circle -there wasn't room for a large one- in the middle of the room. His eyes were directed straight at the floor, hands behind his back and the wrinkle of concentration again being there between his eyebrows.

He set up a fast pace, trying to gather his thoughts. It was harder than he'd thought, walking around in the dark, and he almost stumbled over the weary chair there was in the room. The piece of furniture let out a nasty screech and then fell silent again, a muted curse playing on Naruto's lips. This wasn't going anywhere, Raven's eyes were still invading his mind like a pack of rats, and he couldn't concentrate on even Rattlesnake. It was getting too difficult.

Like an answer to a prayer, a low knock suddenly interrupted his thinking. Naruto jolted, fumbling around in the darkness. Why oh why had he taken off his gun holster and where the hell had he put it? He bit down to his lower lip, dropping down to all fours in his search for the gun, and finally his fingers met the familiar cold metal and curled around it. How on earth had it ended up under the chair?

He didn't have time to think about that. The knock came again, this time a lot faster and somehow impatient. Naruto crawled his way to the door and stayed on that level as he carefully cleared his throat, attempting to sound as if he'd just woken up.

"Yeah? Who's there?"

The voice that answered him was unfamiliar, a low and raspy from use, and very male. But the words were what really surprised him.  
"Let me in, mud-sill, and hurry up! Orochimaru's men are after me!"

Naruto blinked, his mind quickly connecting Orochimaru and Rattlesnake, both being names of the same man, and even while knowing it could be a trick he reached for the lock. Somehow he had the feeling that if it had been a trick, the person behind the door might not have been calling him a mud-sill. And besides, if he was going to make a die, he could at least blast balls off from whoever was behind the door.

And when the door opened, Naruto found himself staring up at a very familiar boot leg. His gaze immediately shot up, briefly adoring the creamy thigh and then meeting the dark stare from above.

Neither of them moved for a passing second, an incredulous look crossing Raven's face as if she couldn't understand what Naruto was doing on the floor. That said, she didn't need much time to recover from the shock, and without a warning the gaping blonde was pushed -or practically saying, kicked- out of the way as she strode in. The door was shut and the lock clicked faintly before the key disappeared into a fine-fitting glove she was wearing. And when Naruto still hadn't moved, Raven leaned closer, glaring at him.

"Get up, you fool", she hissed, and Naruto's mouth fell open.

Okay, he should've understood by now that the person speaking from behind the door had been Raven, but his mind had refused to connect the voice to the fair woman from the stage. Now the voice was here again, coming directly from her and he couldn't believe his ears.

"Get up, I said, you're wasting our..." She let out a low grumble before striding to the window and glancing down. Satisfied with what she saw, Raven glanced backwards, just to see Naruto still staring at her like a dead fish.  
"Fine. Don't come, then. I'm taking your horse anyway." Her voice was firm and with that, she kicked off her boots and threw them out of the window, her legs following right after.

Naruto gasped.  
"...h-hey! Wait!" He made an attempt to get back to his feet, his eyes glued to the woman that was apparently out of her mind, sitting on the windowsill like that and looking like she was going to jump.  
"Are you off your rocker, lady? Get down right n-"

And that was exactly what she did. Raven pushed herself off the window and in flash she was gone, a gentle wind swaying the ragged curtains after her. Naruto didn't realized he had been the one that had let out a muffled shout, but as soon as Raven was nowhere to be seen his legs decided to start working again. He pushed himself up and rushed to the window, his heart beating like crazy. The blonde couldn't understand what was going on, why was the woman here, why was she jumping out of windows and why did she sound like a man.

He was almost afraid to look out, half expecting the woman being dead on the ground or at least having her both legs broken or something, but the sight that greeted him was totally different. Naruto had no idea why, but right under his window there was a rather large pile of dried hay. As he glanced around he decided it had to be because of the saloon's small stable was right there as well. But from the middle of all the hay was climbing off a certain woman, very much unharmed but still in a hurry. It was dark down there, the first floor didn't have windows on this side of the building and any light from the second floor where Naruto was couldn't reach the ground. Even still he could tell that the woman wasn't even limping as she grabbed her boots from the ground and headed off to the stables.

Around that time loud noise from the stairs caught Naruto's attention. Someone, or actually many someones, were coming up, talking with low overwrought voices. They clearly weren't happy, and as they got closer and closer the blonde could catch a few separate words. The name 'Rattlesnake' was repeated a few times and then a loud 'bitch' made him glance at his door. But what finally made the window look actually pretty inviting was the way someone started to talk about 'death'. Holy Bible, what had happened out there?

The voices were almost at his door when Naruto had managed to gather most of his stuff, leaving just things he knew he wouldn't need such as clothing; he could always buy new ones. He had a gut feeling that those men knew exactly to which room they were headed, and he wasn't going to be here when they reached it.

The bounty hunter let out a quiet 'oomph' as he was suddenly covered with hay. Had he had a bit more time, Naruto might've bothered with brushing some of the horse food off his clothes and hair, but judging by the noise upstairs he barely had time to grab his fallen hat from the ground and run to the silent stables. The hay that had gotten underneath his clothes felt extremely uncomfortable, even his loyal orange union suit hadn't been able to protect him, and the night air was colder than he'd expected. It hugged him from every side as he ran, staying as close to the wall as possible, his eyes searching for the mysterious woman.

Afterwards Naruto wasn't able to recall how they actually made it out of the town. When he had arrived at the stables, Raven had already had Whirl saddled and almost ready to go, the horse looking rather nervous until Naruto popped into the building. Neither of them had spoken a word as he had helped Raven up to the saddle, an outraged look crossing his face as she sat up there just like any man, her skirt riding up almost obscenely much. Naruto had had to turn his head away to reject all the inappropriate thoughts and to just focus on getting them out of Soundsville without getting caught. In the current situation he was sure neither of them would be treated very well here anymore.

It had felt eternally long to Naruto, but finally they had managed to sneak out, not even a single pair of eyes following them as they took off a dark road to the north. He had hopped on to the saddle and moved the woman to sit behind him, secretly enjoying the fact that she'd have to hold her arms around him. Yet when she did, it was such a light touch that Naruto couldn't get any joy out of it, oh no. It was almost the opposite.

A new night was already falling when they had arrived at a wrecked one-horse town. It was a bit off road and had definitely seen its best days way in the past, but judging by the looks of it the small hotel in the town was obviously in frequent use. Naruto had checked them in as a couple, ignoring a scowl from Raven, and when they had gotten the key and locked themselves into the room, the man decided it was time to break the silence. He was dead-tired and he knew the same went for Raven, there was only one although twin-sized bed in the room and he was curious enough to choke.

"So... What in the name of the Devil happened?" Naruto demanded, sitting on the edge of the bed as he pulled off his boots. He felt dirty for some reason and he longed for bath, the pieces of hay still abusing his poor skin under the union suit. The man was determined to clean up his clothes and then maybe get a bath if it was possible here. Or at least he'd wash his face.

The woman stayed silent and Naruto glanced up, his mouth already open to scold her for ignoring him like that. However, as soon as he recognized the shiny object in front of his nose he snapped his mouth shut, instinctively pulling back. The knife jerked forward a little but not to hurt him.

"Take it."

The deep voice still managed to shock Naruto and he slowly moved his gaze from the knife to Raven's face. The paint had worn out almost completely and he was starting to make out her features, the roughness of them being almost startling. How had he...

"Too slow." Raven pulled the knife back and turned her back to Naruto, flicking her hair over her shoulder to fall all over to his chest. Under the observing stare of the blue eyes she brought the blade up and started cutting off her hair, one midnight black curl at a time. They fell to the ground and Naruto could only watch, his mouth again hanging open, but he didn't feel like he should try to interfere. This had nothing to do with him, after all, even though it made something inside him sting to watch those beautiful strands of hair on the floor, looking suddenly so dead.

She didn't stop until she only had only a bit of bangs framing her face on the sides, the back of her head covered with dark hair sticking up, and Naruto couldn't stop himself from thinking ducks and how their tails stood up just like that. She ruffled her hair, letting out a deep sigh of satisfaction, and as she turned back to Naruto he was startled to realize how much more she suddenly looked like a man instead of a woman she was... right?

She took a step forward, starting to yank off her dress and for a fleeting moment Naruto thought of pulling her to the bed with him and taking her, just like he'd wanted to do right from the start. But then the thought passed with her dress ending up grumbled on the floor and "she" stood up in front of him with only a dark corset, drawers, fishnet tights and her boots on. Any other moment Naruto would've shamelessly admitted getting aroused, but right now there was something very distracting in his supposedly perfect view.

A slight bulge in the front of Raven's drawers made the blonde suddenly flush scarlet.

Naruto might've not been the brightest man on the earth but he wasn't dull as dishwater either, and his brain quickly registered a problem here. He was in a bedroom with a woman more beautiful he'd ever seen, a woman he'd been lusting after ever since he'd seen her first time, but for some reason he didn't feel the slightest urge to jump her. Or maybe a a little bit, but definitely not enough considering the situation.

Or actually the problems could be counted as two. One, the woman had a voice of a young man between hay and grass, maybe a bit raspy from a lack of use but definitely manly one. It was not the sensual feminine voice Naruto had imagined, definitely not, and it made him shiver for all the wrong reasons.  
And two, the lovely lady in front of him apparently had a dick in her panties, and unfortunately not the way Naruto dreamed about.

The blonde gulped as his mind started to slowly process those two problems. In a way he still didn't want to believe the obvious, especially his lower half protesting rather loudly, refusing to accept that he'd been craving a man for all these days. A man would never... It just wasn't possible and didn't make sense. Naruto didn't even notice how intensely he was staring at Raven crotch, his eyes squinted as if he was trying to see right through the drawers to check if the bulge was real. There was still the tiniest glint of hope of it being for example a pair of socks stored there during the traveling.

It was only when Raven cleared his throat that Naruto turned his face up, suddenly almost afraid to look into the obsidian eyes. Much to his surprise, his eyes were met by an amused, mocking smirk and a deeper shade of red covered his face, his hand flying to rub his neck.  
"Uh, I..."

"Done with the staring?" Raven asked, his voice laced with dry humor.  
"Help me with the corset." He turned around without giving Naruto a chance to answer and bent forward just a little, offering Naruto a good view at his lean thighs and firm curve of his ass. Apparently some of the more feminine habits had stuck to him.

For a moment the blonde swore it didn't matter whether this 'woman' had a dick or not, but then he gave it a better look, just to notice that when Raven wasn't wearing a bustle of any kind, his backside wasn't all the feminine at all. It was still nice and stuff, Naruto didn't want to hurt the other's feelings, but there was not the same softness women had around their hips. Feeling stupid Naruto stood up, his face still awkwardly red as he started to untie the knot on the corset laces. His eyes dropped to the curve on the other male's side and he immediately winced, trying to make his fingers move faster. It had to be so uncomfortable to wear something like that, men's bodies just weren't meant for that. Raven didn't seem to mind, though, or at least he wasn't complaining, and Naruto decided to be sensitive and not ask anything about it just yet.

His hands worked on the lace for a moment, the knot finally coming off. Biting his lower lip in concentration the bounty hunter yanked at the lace until the corset was loose enough. His ears caught a sigh as it escaped Raven's lips and the brunette shook off the piece of clothing, taking a few deep breaths.

Naruto stepped back, running his gaze over the pale body. In only the underpants, pantyhose and boots Raven was still quite an arousing sight, a man or not, especially now when Naruto couldn't see his flat chest or... Whatever there was in his panties. Feeling his face heat up again the blonde turned to look away, the sound of the heels clacking telling him that the other mas was moving again.

Praising the silence that took over the room, Raven sat down in a chair next to the window and took off his boots, rolling his ankles if relief as soon as they were free. No matter how used to wearing heels he was, it was still always a relief to get them off, especially after such a long night. Next up were the pantyhose which he cut off with the knife, throwing them to the corner in shreds after removing them. It felt so relieving, being in just his drawers, not having to wear a corset or dress or whatever Orochimaru told him to wear during the nights. The man on the bed had kept quiet for quite a long time and Sasuke was surprised that he hadn't started demanding explanations already. That would've fit the image the he had of the blonde.

Sighing exasperatedly, 'Raven' lifted his head and glared to other side of the room, just to find the blonde asleep on the bed. He was still sitting on the edge of it, but his head had lolled forward, chin pressing to his chest, and he was snoring quietly. His hair was tousled and he looked like a bath would be welcome, but what had caught Sasuke's eyes was the scarf still covering the blonde's face. He understood that it was useful when riding, but right now they were inside and there was no dust in the air.

His curiosity stirring, Sasuke tiptoed to the bed, making sure not to wake up the man as he pressed his fingertips to the scarf, starting to slowly pull it down over the other's nose. It was tied tight but the raven was sure he would be able to get it off without opening the knot.

After lots of patient fiddling Sasuke had finally managed to pull the scarf low enough to reveal the blonde's nose. He spent a moment smirking at the splash of freckles that had invaded the bridge of the blonde's nose. Wondering if there was more on the cheekbones, he hooked a fingertip behind the scarf to pull it lower. The raven was curious, almost too much so, and he couldn't help himself. This man had caught his eye earlier, he'd noticed the blonde even from the middle of his audience, and now something was urging him forward, telling him to get rid of the offensive scarf that was hiding something from him.

Tanned fingers wrapped around his wrist before he could do anything else, yanking his hand away from the scarf. Sasuke let out a low yelp of surprise, pulling backwards and covering his face with his other arm out of reflex.

But the hit never came. He didn't feel the stinging pain in any part of his body, and there wasn't the all too familiar feeling of slimy lips pressing to his necks ready to claim him. The hold of his wrist didn't loosen up but neither happened anything else, and slowly the young man let his hand down, glancing warily at the other.

The blue eyes that were looking back at him had a hint of sadness in them as well as pity, and the emotion made the raven snarl. He yanked his hand free, taking a step backwards to get away from the uncomfortable situation.  
"Don't look at me like that!" Sasuke snapped sharply, the pity making him angry. He didn't need anyone's pity, especially not some stranger's whom he'd seen just a few days ago for the first time.

"Did he really treat you that bad?"

Sasuke blinked at the question, surprised to hear the anger bubbling under the calm surface.  
"What?" he asked in return, sitting down on the bed while keeping his distance. His fingers still itched to go and yank down that damned scarf, but the other had been fast and tugged it back over his nose already.

"Did you think I was going to hit you?"

"Uh, no." Now Sasuke felt just stupid. He should've known that this guy was way too soft for things like that, by the time he'd spent with the blonde he could already tell that the blonde was the type to avoid violence if possible.

"Then why did you dodge like that?" Now that bounty hunter sounded almost offended as if Sasuke had hurt his pride by doing so.

The raven let out an irritated sigh, tugging at his now shorter hair. It felt weird, so light, but he was starting to get used to it already. He had always hated the long silky locks that had been swaying around his waist.  
"Out of habit."

An almost triumphant look crossed the other's face and he smiled, looking suddenly not so tired at all.  
"I told you! He treated you so bad that you learned to protect yourself like that!" Then the look in the blue eyes darkened as the man realized it probably wasn't something to shout so joyously about.  
"Or, I mean... Yeah."

Sasuke waited for a moment, giving him a chance to continue but when nothing came he shook his head and stood up.  
"Whatever, idiot. Let's go to bed. We have to get up early tomorrow."

Naruto frowned, apparently finding something dissatisfying.  
"We? Are we... I mean, are you coming with me?"

The look he got in return would've made even Rattlesnake feel himself stupid.  
"I don't have a horse or anything with me. I need you to take me to the next larger town."

"But I... I can't! I need to go back, I have unfinished business with Rattlesnake!"

The dark-haired man flashed a smirk, walking over to the small wash stand they had.  
"Oh, you don't have to worry about him. He's on the snakes' level where he belongs already. I took care of him."

Naruto blinked, watching the other man in confusion. Took care of him...? Snakes' level, but that was...  
"Did you kill him?" he uttered incredulously, his voice sounding weird, somehow strained. But it wasn't... He'd seen Raven with the Snake, and there was no way the woman could've just killed him. Rattlesnake wasn't that weak, dammit!

The dark-haired man didn't turn around but started to wash his face, ignoring Naruto's stunned voice.  
"Yes, I did", he answered matter-of-factly as if he was talking about the weather.  
"I stuck a knife to his chest. That's why I had to run away like that."

Still gaping at Raven, Naruto closed his mouth that had fallen open from shock. It was still hard for him to understand that this weird almost-naked man had been the beautiful woman of his dreams just half an hour ago, and to hear him talking about killing Rattlesnake... It was just so absurd.  
"You're joking, right?"

"Of course I'm not, why would I joke about something like that?" Raven turned to give him a weird look, water dripping from his bangs, and then turned back, splashing more water to his face.

Naruto let his brain process the information for a moment, and when it finally kicked in he jumped up, storming over to the other man.  
"What do you mean you killed him? You can't kill him, it was my job! How can it... I would've needed that reward!" He was suddenly full of righteous anger, his face heating up. If Rattlesnake was really gone, there was no way he could get the reward offered for that one, and it meant he'd need to start a new hunt from the scratch... He didn't have enough money for that!

"Reward?" Raven had turned around, studying Naruto's face intensely.  
"You were there for a reward?" His hand came up faster than an attacking snake, yanking down Naruto's scarf and revealing the identical whisker-like scars on his cheeks. The dark eyes widened just a tad, maybe from surprise or triumph, the tiniest of smirks crossing his face although there was an element of shock in his expression.  
"I knew there was something odd in you..."

Naruto immediately reached up to tug the scarf back, but the pale fingers refused to let him do that. They wrapped around his wrist and held his hand down as the dark-haired male ran his fingers on the tanned cheeks, almost as if caressing the scars.

"I wouldn't have guessed...", Raven murmured, shaking his head slowly. A drop of water flew from his hair to Naruto's hand, making his fingers twitch.  
"Foxface..."

Naruto kept quiet, waiting for the other to continue. Now that his identity had been revealed he had nothing to hide, and the only thing he could do was to wait for Raven's decision. He knew that the other might freak out, having just confessed a cold-blooded murder to a bounty-hunter, and Raven had after all been a subordinate of Rattlesnake's. The man might decide that it was the best for him to knock Naruto out and run for his life, escape from the blonde and hide somewhere so the hunter would not find him.

Or he might decide to stay, although Naruto didn't really dare to hope for that option. Raven had poked his curiosity and he wasn't ready to let the man go just yet.

After a moment the ex-woman let out a deep sigh and the tension vanished, the slender fingers letting go of the stronger hand.  
"I see..." The pale lips suddenly stretched into a twisted smirk and a dry, humorless laugh escaped them, sending shivers down Naruto's spine.  
"Of all the times I imagined someone to come and put an end to his business, I never believed it would truly be you... Of course I know who you are, don't look so surprised. He kept some sort of track of you, after all, there aren't many bounty hunters as successful as you. He was worried of you coming after him... And now that you finally were there, I ended it before you could..." The man laughed bitterly again, shaking his head, and then took a step back.

Naruto didn't know what to say as he watched Raven to walk around the bed and lay down on it, the dark eyes directed at the roof as he was still. That babbling hadn't made much sense to him but he didn't feel like asking about it, the topic feeling still too sore and just plain odd to be poked at too much.  
"Eh... Sorry?"

The dark eyes turned to look at him, the graceful brows arching in question.  
"For what?"

"For being late?"

Raven scoffed and rolled over to his side, his back towards the bounty hunter. He said nothing more, but Naruto could tell he wasn't even attempting to sleep just yet.

Shrugging to himself the blonde got up and quickly stripped down to his union suit. He gave the wash stand a quick look before dismissing the thought and making his way to the bed. He stayed as far away from Raven as he could, lying on the other side of the bed.  
"Good night", he found himself murmuring as his eyes slid shut. Not that he had expected any, but Naruto received no answer and he chewed on his lower lip, wondering if it would be safe for him to fall asleep. Raven hadn't looked like he was going to murmured the blonde in his sleep, but he still didn't feel too safe for the time being.

He kept silent, listening to the other's breathing. Neither of them were sleeping as the moon climbed higher, the sound of two breaths heavy in the room. It was only when the sky started to lighten that Naruto finally felt his lids become heavy and fall shut, the warm sleep taking him in without a question.

It felt like just a couple of minutes had passed when Naruto woke up to the feeling of someone staring at him. He was immediately stirred from the land of dreams and his hand went to look for a weapon of any kind, just in case.

A quiet scoff not so far away from him caught Naruto's attention and he turned his sleep-hazed eyes to the direction of the noise, seeing only a black mess. Focusing his eyes he finally managed to make out a pale face from the middle of the mess that was midnight black hair. And from that face two dark eyes were staring right back, unblinking and free of any emotion.

"Uh, good morning?" Naruto tried, feeling suddenly abnormally bashful. It took him a moment to realize that while the eyes he was looking into were most definitely Raven's, the practically naked figure in their bed didn't belong to a woman of any kind. It wasn't all that odd to share a bed with a guy in a situation like this and- Hey, why on earth did his face feel this warm? Was he... was he really blushing? What was going on?

"Move your legs", came the sharp answer with voice clear of sleep, and Naruto finally understood why his face was heating up like that.

He was lying practically on the top of the dark-haired man, his legs entangled with the other's so that Raven couldn't have moved away even if he'd wanted. Sputtering something incomprehensible Naruto pulled away, but at the same time he couldn't help wondering why Raven hadn't just kicked his legs away and gotten up if that was what he'd wanted. The other couldn't be either that weak or polite.

Yet when his eyes caught the first good look of Raven, Naruto admitted that he couldn't be so sure about the first option. In the dark it had been impossible to tell, but now that the other man was bent over the wash stand it was clear that he was way too thin. What Naruto had thought was feminine grace were actually just arms of a man that hadn't been fed enough, both his legs and arms were too thin obviously because of malnutrition. His bones were sticking out like horse's that had been kept in hunger for too long and he was pale like someone that hadn't been out of the house in a long time. It was obvious however that Raven hadn't been forced to wear corsets too long periods at once because there was hardly any curve in his waist, no more than a normal man had. Somehow Naruto found that being a relief.

The observing gaze of the blue eyes slid up to the slim shoulders and to the graceful neck. The tanned hands clenched into fists as their owner noticed the couple of bruises on the pale skin, their cause being almost painfully clear. Rattlesnake had been one sick bastard, that was all Naruto could think right now. And then it struck him again, the realization that his hunt had been all for nothing. He would have to go and find a sheriff's office somewhere to go through the wanted posters again... But he knew he wouldn't have gone after Orochimaru if there had been anyone with better reward around.

Almost as if he had felt the stare of the angered, disappointed eyes, Raven to look at Naruto over his shoulder, the dark eyes staring calmly at him.  
"What?" He didn't seem the slightest bit faced about Naruto's staring, the pale hands reaching for a rough towel and rubbing his face dry.  
"Still thinking about the reward?"

Naruto couldn't lie and so he nodded, his eyes still drifting down to the bruises. He couldn't stop staring at them, couldn't stop thinking about the scene he had witnessed at the saloon. It was bothering him more than he wanted to admit.  
"...huh? Yeah", he murmured in return, rubbing his neck as he got up, starting to pull on his clothes. He'd have to go pee soon.

Much to his surprise Raven flashed him a quick smirk.  
"Don't worry about that. I have another reward for you if you help me catch him."

Naruto blinked, surprised.  
"What?"

"I'll explain later. There's a certain man I need to kill and his head is rather valuable. You can have the reward."

Feeling righteously suspicious Naruto spent the next fifteen minutes trying to drag any kind of details out of his new companion, but it was all in vain. Raven remained silent, giving him just murderous glared as if he was the man the other was after, and finally Naruto gave up, his attention shifting to other things.

"Why aren't you wearing any clothes?" He gaped at the pale man still in his drawers and rubbed the wrinkle between his brows, trying to understand the odd behavior. They wouldn't be able to go anywhere if Raven was unclothed!

"I obviously don't have besides the dress, idiot."

"Huh? Hey, don't call me an idiot! How could I-"

"For a famous bounty hunter you're awfully stupid. Now go buy me some used clothes, and hurry up. We don't have time to waste. And bring something we can pack the dress to."

Naruto stood somewhat stricken as he was given orders by the man that had been woman just yesterday, a hint of anger pinching his insides.  
"Don't boss me around like that! Why don't you just dress up in that corset and we could go..." The words died on his lips as Raven was suddenly there, standing right in front of him, the slender hands pressed to his chest. The brunette leaned closer, his face just a couple of inches away from Naruto's as he spoke, the blonde's gaze immediately dropping to the delicate lips.

"Because I'm not a woman. Now get out or I'll take your clothes and leave alone. Hurry up." He didn't step back after he was done, but his hands slid lower to Naruto's belt, tugging it demandingly.

The blonde gulped and his hands twitched, his memory stirring immediately. From this distance he couldn't see Raven's flat chest or the... the tell-tale _thing_ in his drawers, he could almost imagine that the other was a woman again, and oh boy didn't this remind him of the dreams he had had of 'her' earlier. Feeling the hands working on his belt Naruto licked his lips and leaned a bit closer, his arms snaking around the thin waist and pulling the other man closer. He tilted his head, catching the startled look in the dark eyes before his eyes fluttered shut, Raven's breath ghosting on his lips already.

And of course, Raven was faster. Before he realized what was happening, Naruto found himself sitting on the floor, his chest aching from the punch it had taken. He blinked, trying to catch his breath, his eyes searching for Raven. They didn't have to search for long as the man was sitting on the floor, right in front of him, and the way he was gripping Naruto's collar explained why the blonde couldn't breath all that well.

"Don't ever try that again", the low voice hissed at him , the obsidian eyes flaming with anger as they remained staring at Naruto as if attempting to burn the blonde right there.

Naruto drew in a breath and shook his head, trying to pry the fingers off his collar.  
"But I wasn't..."

The eyes in front of him narrowed and Raven was suddenly shaking him, yanking him even closer.  
"I don't care what you saw at the saloon. What happened between me and Orochimaru doesn't matter, I am not a whore." He threw Naruto to the floor and stood up.

Naruto gasped for air, watching Raven as he walked over to the window, the pale fists pressed to his sides. His throat ached but air felt amazing in his lungs and he inhaled again, attempting to get up but finding his legs too weak. He shook his head, trying to clear it but accomplishing nothing, and with a frown on his face he moved to stare at Raven's back.

He felt so stupid. Naruto sincerely hadn't meant anything bad by it, he had just acted on an instinct and desire, it wasn't like he'd tried to take advantage of the other man. Yes, Raven was weak and he hadn't believed the brunet could push him off like that, but it didn't matter. He knew that Raven wasn't a woman and he hadn't meant to treat him like one, let alone like a whore. What he had seen Orochimaru, or Rattlesnake, do to him had nothing to do with this!

Naruto cleared his throat awkwardly, pushing himself off the floor.  
"I'm... I'll go get you the clothes now. Don't go anywhere." He didn't expect to get an answer and therefore he just backed off to the door, locking it after himself. He was sure Raven wouldn't go anywhere anyway, but he wanted to make sure. The blonde had irritated the other a bit more than he had meant to, and there was no way he'd let the brunette run away because of that. And besides, that reward Raven had talked about had made him curious.

For such a small town, the place was surprisingly difficult when it came to finding clothes. The sun was already high when Naruto finally made his way back to the small hotel, carrying a bunch of clothes, shoes and an old sack for the dress. He wasn't exactly sure how big a sack the dress would need so he'd just gotten the biggest he'd found, silently thinking that if necessary he could stuff Raven into it if he started being too much of a nuisance. The idea had made him grin and he almost seriously contemplated it, just to get to see the look on the other's face when he'd be let out of the sack. Naruto was sure he'd have to be afraid for his balls for a while after that.

He unlocked the door, feeling slightly nervous as he stepped had spent only a day with Raven and he could already tell that the other could be somewhat... unpredictable. But as soon as he was in the room he saw that that the brunette hadn't moved an inch. He was still standing at the window, watching he small town outside, but his hands were now relaxed. Naruto let out a quiet sigh of relief and then dropped the clothes to the bed, feeling suddenly a bit fidgety. Would Raven still be mad at him?  
"Raven?" he tried carefully, hating how helpless he felt around the other man, like he could do nothing right.

"Sasuke."

"What?"

"My name. Sasuke."

"Oh." Again, Naruto felt stupid. For all this time it had never occurred to him that Raven might have another name, that Raven was probably just his stage name. He hadn't thought of it so he hadn't asked, and now he felt like he should have.  
"Sasuke, then." He tasted the name on his tongue, liking the way it sounded in his ears. It was also easy to believe that Rattlesnake had liked it, he could clearly imagine the man pronouncing the name with his hissing voice, practically licking the air as he did. A raw shudder ran down Naruto's spine and he shook his head, raising his gaze to Raven- no, Sasuke, again.  
"I brought you clothes. And the sack for the dress. May I ask, what are you going to do with it? It's kind of big to drag along and it looks quite valuable, so I think we could sell it in the next bigger town. OR do you-"

"Shut up, idiot, you talk too much." The dark command shut Naruto up immediately, and the raven strolled forward, starting to go through the clothes. They were a bit weary and clearly used, but at least they were somewhat clean and intact. Maybe a tad too big but they would do for now, at least he wouldn't stand out in the crowd. And that idiot Foxface had even brought him a hat, how clever of him. Under the stare of the blue eyes Sasuke started to dress up, the clothes feeling odd and rough on his skin. He hadn't worn men's clothing in years and the materials used for his fancy dresses had been something entirely different. He bit his lip, refusing to complain, and forced himself to start adjusting to his new life. No matter how hard this would prove to be, it would always be better than staying with Orochimaru and working as his own private slave, because that was what he'd practically been. It was over now.

TBC

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A/N: (el) hombre is Spanish for 'man'. I'm looking forward to your reactions to this chapter!


	3. Any gun can play

**Warnings:** Nothing much for this chapter  
**Disclaimer:** Characters are property of a certain Masashi Kishimoto, I'm just borrowing them.

**A/N: **I didn't mean it to take this long to write this chapter _ I've been busy with my finals starting and school in general so I apologize for not being able to answer your reviews personally, but THANK YOU SO MUCH for them! I really appreciate it that you take the time to leave me a couple of words, it really keeps me going. I love you all and I'm trying to keep writing this even now that Naruto's birthday and the NaruSasu day are demanding my attention too~**  
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For Didi

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A couple of times during his life Naruto had caught himself hoping the he'd had someone to travel with. A partner in crime, so to speak, although a more appropriate way to put it might've been a partner to stop the crime. Most of the time Whirl was more than enough company for him, he enjoyed being by himself as well as the lively atmosphere of the larger towns, and when he could get good doses of both in turns his life was close to perfect. But sometimes there were these dark nights or long roads to nowhere that made Naruto wish he could've at least talked to someone.

Now he was ready to take back all those stupid wishes.

Yesterday it had made him feel hot and nervous to have Raven sitting behind him, but now he was ready to throw the man to the next poor excuse of a well they passed. Granted, he didn't speak much, but it was in fact the silence that was making Naruto pissed off. He had never met anyone that could radiate annoyance and discomfort without even a single word as well as his new companion. During their ride Sasuke hadn't said a single word, he'd kept his mouth shut and at first Naruto had thought he was still angry about something. Then he had made the mistake of asking, and the angry hiss right next to his ear had almost made him jump out of his skin. Even that little sound had made it clear that no, Sasuke wasn't angry, but there was something else bothering him, and within an hour or two it had become almost too clear to Naruto what it was.

Of course he hadn't paid a single thought to the fact that Sasuke was not used to riding. Sure, he had danced a lot so he wasn't in a horrible shape, but riding a horse required muscles that many people didn't know they had before they got on horseback the first time.

And that was exactly the case for Sasuke. Not having ridden a horse in years, he had his muscles already screaming at him, forcing him to cling tighter to the strong body in front of him, and by every moment of showing such weakness grew the raven's anger. He was also getting pretty aggressive blisters in his inner thighs from the seams of the pants he wasn't used to wearing, and the temperature was rising as well. However, he refused to complain and kept his mouth shut, a concentrated frown on his face as he effectively ignored Naruto's attempts to strike up a conversation.

Naruto let out a sigh as he felt Sasuke shift behind him for umpteenth time. The dark-haired man hadn't been doing anything besides squirming and letting out weird huffing noises for a while now, and it was starting to annoy not only Naruto but Whirl as well. He was quite a good-natured horse but he wasn't used to carrying two and definitely not someone that was moving constantly like that.

"Sasuke? Are you okay?" the blonde finally asked, deciding to take the risk of having the angered raven snarling at him again. A moment passed and no answer was given, the other man just stilled completely and stopped his huffing and puffing as well, the slim hands tightening their hold of Naruto's shirt momentarily. The bounty hunter let out a frustrated sigh and relaxed on the saddle, lifting a hand to adjust his hat a bit. The sun was high already and it was getting real hot in the open plains, there was a drop of sweat on his upper lip and Naruto quickly wiped it off, a frown crossing his face.

"If you are, try to stay still. You're annoying." Maybe a bit harsh, but he wasn't here to pamper the other man. Sasuke had grabbed him along and not the other way, no matter what Naruto's plans had been just a few days ago.

After that it was quiet for a while. Sasuke had completely stopped moving and was now leaning a bit against Naruto's back; the blonde figured he was getting sleepy thanks to the heat. The sun didn't really bother him so he started to whistle, a slow melody shooing away the silence. It was nothing fancy but now that he didn't have any kind of instrument here with him, whistling would do. Surprisingly enough, the raven behind him didn't let out even a single noise of complaint, and so Naruto figured it wasn't bothering him.

The sound kept growing and changing slowly, jumping to high notes at times before returning to the melody. Naruto let a little smile cross his face, and much to his surprise he realized that despite the situation he was actually rather relaxed. It was hot, sure, and he was riding with a man that could be a hunted outlaw for all he knew, but at the moment he felt just extremely content and peaceful with what he had. Even after he'd stopped the whistling and just rode in silence, the situation was rather pleasing. It might be a good time for a quick break sometime soon, it was getting rather hot for riding and if his eyes didn't deceive him, there were some trees ahead. Trees meant shade. Yet it would be so nice to keep going now that Sasuke had stopped the fidgeting and was quiet and leaning against his back...

Actually, that was a bit too much. Naruto hadn't paid any attention to it before, but the raven's weight on his back was a bit too much. It was making him feel heavy and it also made his shirt wet with sweat, the contact making him hot in a wrong way. Gently the blonde reached behind himself, the little conflict from before forgotten already and grabbed Sasuke's knee, shaking it a little.

He received no answer. Another shake, and when a thin hand appeared from nowhere and slapped his, the blonde immediately snatched his hand back. Sheesh, he hadn't meant anything bad and Sasuke was already swatting him away like that! Could the other really stay angry with him for that long? That was so childish of him! Naruto let out an annoyed huff and rubbed his hand against his thigh, shrugging just to annoy the other man that was still leaning heavily on him. He was expecting at least an irritated scoff in return, but no sound reached his ears. There was only the same hand that had just hit him now brushing against his thigh's side, making the blonde freeze momentarily. What...

The touch had been limp, almost accidental. Unintended. And that was when Naruto sensed something was wrong. He took a better hold of his loose reins and twisted his upper body a little, turning to look back at his companion, concern coloring his voice as he spoke.  
"Sasuke?"

All he got in return was a loud thud and a couple of side steps from Whirl as there was suddenly nothing behind him but air. From the corner of his eye he had caught the pale body falling down and the blonde let out a colorful curse, jumping off his horse in an instant. Well-trained as he was, Whirl stopped immediately, turning to look what on earth it was that his rider was doing.

Another series of swearwords ripped out of Naruto's throat as he knelt down next to the lifeless body, his eyes searching for the cause of Sasuke's condition. The raven was breathing heavily, his face red and hands clenched even in the unconscious state. Without a hint of hesitation Naruto ran his fingers over the pale lips, the dryness of them making him want to shoot himself. How had he been so stupid? He should've realized that Sasuke was in no way able to take care of himself in such a situation. It was all new to the raven, and Naruto hadn't even made sure he had water to drink. It was so important to drink in the heat.

Shamelessly the blonde grabbed the other man and effortlessly threw him over the saddle so that he lay there on his stomach and then started to lead them to the trees. He'd have to get Sasuke to drink as soon as possible to make him wake up, and the second important thing was to find a place to sleep in. Naruto himself quite enjoyed sleeping under an open sky but he was sure Sasuke wouldn't appreciate it at all, not right now. With yet another curse Naruto picked up his pace, his eyes trailing back to Sasuke every now and then.

The raven kept eerily quiet the whole time, enough to make Naruto wonder if he was dead. But of course he wasn't when the blonde checked, and afterwards he felt a bit stupid, being such a lady for worrying over another man this much. To his defense it had to be said that the man in question was freakishly thin, dehydrated and unconscious at the moment, but still.

As soon as they reached the shade Naruto pulled the raven down and placed him down to the ground, leaving Whirl free. The horse wouldn't go anywhere anyway so he wouldn't have to worry.

"Sasuke?" Naruto was kneeling next to the pale man, gently slapping his cheek. No reaction, and he tried harder, making the dark eyelashes flutter on the cheeks as the raven muttered something, his eyelids slowly peeling up. Sasuke seemed to have trouble focusing his gaze and Naruto gave him no reason to do that, water already dripping to the dry lips from his leather water bottle. The lips parted greedily and a pink tongue darted out to lap more of the liquid in, the dark eyes still half shut as the raven focused just on the water.

"Easy, boy", Naruto murmured, pulling the bottle back. Carefully he poured some on Sasuke's face and the obsidian eyes snapped open, staring right at Naruto.

"What..." The raven obviously wasn't feeling too good yet and he coughed lightly, glancing at the bottle.  
"More."

The murmured command made Naruto roll his eyes but he obeyed anyway, bringing the bottle to Sasuke's lips again. This time the raven started drinking more steadily, his Adam's apple bobbing as he swallowed the liquid with greed. He still made no attempt to hold it by himself, but Naruto was more than okay with supporting the man still for a moment; it reminded him off the fragile-yet-strong dancer from the stage in the saloon.

After consuming almost the whole bottle of water Sasuke let out a satisfied sigh and wiped his lips with the back of his hand. He didn't seem to have noticed that he was still lying down with his head resting on Naruto's thigh, the thin body looking almost ready to break into two for a moment.

Whirl let out a content puff on the background and Naruto heard the horse slowly walking forward and munching the grass with good appetite. A soft smile crossed his face as he glanced at his loyal companion. Most of the time, Whirl was all he needed and he felt righteously proud for having trained him all by himself; he went even as far as admitting that Whirl was the best friend he'd had and would ever have.

Another soft cough brought his attention back to the other man, and he was immediately captured by the dark, still slightly hazy eyes staring right into his own azure ones.

"Why are you smiling?" For once Sasuke didn't sound either annoyed or arrogant; his voice was just questioning, gentle even on some level.

Naruto couldn't help his smile widening just a tad at that.  
"I was just watching Whirl..."

"The horse?"

"Yes... But don't you dare to speak of him that way, he's more than just a horse!" The blonde puffed his cheeks like an angry chipmunk and tried his best to glare down at the arrogant raven, finding it surprisingly hard to stay angry at anything that was resting in his lap so nicely.

"Hn."

Naruto waited for a moment, but when nothing else came he just shrugged, feeling just a tad irritated. No-one should speak of Whirl with such voice, his horse was the damn best there was.  
"Whatever, bastard... Are you done being a girl? We should get going if we want to get anywhere today! At this rate we'll never reach Leaf Creek, and I had hoped..." His voice trailed off as he realized how pale Sasuke had suddenly gotten.  
"Hey, are you okay? Are you feeling worse or somethin'?"

Sasuke shook his head slowly and blinked. His hands pressed against the ground to push himself up, and for a moment he just sat still with his head hanging and his upper body swaying just a little as if he was still half-asleep or something.  
"I'm fine", the young man snapped, his voice making Naruto even more confused.

The blonde had been expecting an angry snarl or at least some level of annoyance, bu what he got was an almost choked reply full of something he couldn't quite place. Whatever the emotion was, it had made Sasuke's voice thick and somehow painful to listen to. Naruto cleared his throat awkwardly, wanting to bang his head to the ground. Why did Sasuke have to be this difficult _already_?

"Uh, okay... Now do you think you can ride? How about you hop in the saddle and I ride behind you, it'll be easier for you that way... And remember to drink often, it's really hot here man, I can't have you passing out on me like that again..." Not that he'd ever admit it, but it had made him worry when Sasuke had just fallen down.

The raven turned to look at him, his lips parted as if he was going to say something, but then he apparently changed his mind and snapped his mouth shut. It took him a moment to stand up and even after he'd gotten to his feet he didn't look too stable. Naruto's attempts to support him were discarded with a swat of hand and the blonde pulled back, letting Sasuke get to the saddle on his own as well. It took him at least twice the time he'd needed to stand up straight.

And when Naruto finally got up and took his place behind the saddle, he suddenly realized how difficult it had to have been to Sasuke to actually stay on. There wasn't much space and he felt like he was sliding backwards all the time, over the croup of Whirl towards his tail and then eventually to the ground. It was a funny feeling, and as soon as the horse started to move he found himself grabbing Sasuke by the waist, his arms immediately wrapping around the thin body, forcing him to realize how little muscle the man really had. Damn, the raven was definitely built like a snake in stilts.

"What's the matter, wimp? Is it too hard for you?" The cocky voice caught Naruto by surprise and his head whipped up, the tiniest amount of red coloring his cheeks as he realized he had accidentally buried his face to Sasuke's back while holding onto him.

"N-no...! And hey, I'm not a wimp! Shut up!"

Sasuke just smirked back at him before turning to face forward, allowing Naruto's arms to remain wrapped around him. It supported his tired body as well so there was no need to complain.  
"Tell me which way we're going."

Naruto blinked, surprised with how quickly Sasuke had dropped the subject. Or maybe the other was still feeling weird after fainting like that.  
"Just... forward. You see those mountain?" Well duh, they couldn't really be missed as they were looming right ahead of them. Not really close but not too far either.  
"Head there. Leaf Creek is near the mountains." Towards the mountains also meant more trees and more water, and Naruto would welcome both with open arms. So would Sasuke, he was sure, but he was again given a cold shoulder after a sharp nod. It was apparent that the raven didn't really like the idea of heading towards Leaf Creek but he hadn't said anything about it so Naruto wasn't going to pry. The blonde sure knew that people had their secrets.

As the hours passed, their way of traveling started to slowly become more pleasant for both of them. At first Sasuke had been stiff as a rifle barrel, the strong arms around him making him uncomfortable, but slowly he had started to relax until he was almost leaning into the touch, an unexpectedly relaxed look on his face. He was holding Whirl's reins loosely in his hand, knowing that the horse was well-trained enough not to start running like a madman without a warning.

Naruto on the other hand was enjoying himself a lot more now that Sasuke was okay with the situation. There was a little smile on his face as he kept suggesting breaks every now and then, the sun still scorching them. At times he hopped down and walked for a while next to the horse to let him rest a little bit, and every time he climbed back up Sasuke tensed a bit at first before scoffing and relaxing again. It had become a kind of a game, to see how quickly Naruto could coax Sasuke back from his tense state.

That night they arrived at a decent-sized town and Naruto immediately hurried to find them a hotel. Again, he asked for only one room and after paying for it he couldn't help noticing how light his wallet felt already. He did have another one in a saddle bag but it hadn't been as full as this one to begin with, and he didn't know how long he'd have to keep Raven with him and if he'd be able to get a reward for a lesser criminal in some town. That would be much needed, and it was what occupied his mind as he wandered to the stables to take care of his mount.

Sasuke dragged himself upstairs with the key to their room, his legs aching like never before. He couldn't remember ever hurting this much before, and definitely not this way. The stairs had been torture and he stopped in front of the door, turning the key in the lock.

The view that greeted him as he stepped inside wasn't exactly what he'd expected. The room was perfectly sized for two people to stay there comfortably and the double bed on the other side of the room was neatly made. There wasn't a single speckle of dust anywhere (although Sasuke knew that there had to be some brushed under the carpet) and a small table to two chairs in the middle of the room gave it a little sumptuous touch. They had a mirror on the right wall and a window on the left and the curtains that framed the window were pleasant to watch, the dark red color bringing in a soft shade of red as the descending sun touched the curtains with its rays and then casting the light to the room.

All in all, it was much better than Sasuke had expected.

Half an hour later, when Naruto finally closed the door of their room after himself, Sasuke was sitting on the edge of the bed, wearing nothing but a ragged towel around his waist and a small pile of cloth strips on the bed next to him. His left ankle was resting on his right knee, the position leaving his legs spread and most of his thigh visible; from another angle Naruto knew he could probably see everything that was hidden under the towel.

A familiar heat crept to his face and he rubbed his neck, offering Sasuke a sheepish grin as the raven turned to stare at him with those dark, blank eyes. Naruto shifted, opening his mouth to speak but something in Sasuke's expression cut him off and he let his hand drop, his grin losing some of its volume.

After a moment Sasuke scoffed and turned to look down again, Naruto's shoulder slumping as he let out a breath he had been holding. Feeling still slightly embarrassed, he let his eyes roam over the pale chest and stomach, and it almost made him wince as he realized he could probably count Sasuke's ribs if he wanted. The other's arms looked even paler and skinnier than before, and his thighs...

Naruto swallowed, his eyes widening, and at the same time Sasuke reached for the first strip of cloth, starting to wrap it around his thigh. Under the observing stare of the bright blue eyes he flinched a little as the material first touched his broken skin there. Even from where he was standing, Naruto could tell that immaculate skin of Sasuke's inner thighs was now speckled with huge, nasty-looking blisters. He stepped closer, to take a better look, but what he got was the pale legs immediately snapping together and the towel being tugged lower to cover Sasuke's crotch from his view, the obsidian eyes again scorching him.

"What?" Sasuke sounded strained, annoyed, and Naruto could tell that it wasn't just because he was irritated with Naruto being curious.

"What... were those?" Naruto immediately wanted to bite his tongue off, the stupidity of his question and the closed off look on Sasuke's face making him wince.

"I mean, I know what they are, but-"

"Shut up."

Again, Naruto did, but it didn't stop him from walking closer until he stood right in front of Sasuke who was still sitting and gripping the towel.

"Look, R... Sasuke. I just... Can I help you with those?" He pointed at the cloth strips that were obviously meant to serve as bandages, and as he briefly glanced at them, he never saw the odd look crossing Sasuke's face. By the time his eyes were back staring at Sasuke's, the other's face was again blank and completely void of any emotion.

"No."

Not that Naruto had expected any other answer, but Sasuke's clipped tone still made him frown. The raven shifted on the bed and suddenly it struck Naruto how uncomfortable he had to be feeling. Sasuke was practically naked, just that poor towel covering his things and here was Naruto, looming over him and asking if it was okay to touch him around that area like... It made him bite his lip that the first word to cross his mind was 'Orochimaru'. Although he was fairly certain that that bastard had never bothered asking.

Feeling the anger rise its head inside himself, Naruto took a deep breath and forced the tension to leave his shoulders, the tense and wary look on Sasuke's face making him feel like he was doing something wrong by wanting to help the other. Slowly, careful not to scare the raven, Naruto sat down on the bed, far enough to still let Sasuke keep his distance, and he flashed Sasuke a smile that he hoped came out as reassuring.

"I just want to help."

In return he got a suspicious, almost contemptuous scowl.  
"I don't need your help." Sasuke turned to look away, a hard look on his face. Naruto could tell he was still feeling uneasy due to the tension in his jaw and the way his forehead was wrinkled. He was also still fisting the towel and it crossed Naruto's mind that he had no idea where that had come from. However, he was sensitive enough to keep the questions to himself and instead he let out a frustrated sigh, his hand reaching to touch Sasuke's shoulder.

"Sasuke, c'mon! I can wrap those in a minute and then we can-"

"Can what?"

Naruto was slowly starting to wonder if he had hit his head while jumping out of the window back in Soundsville, because he seemed to shut up so efficiently every time Sasuke as much as opened his mouth. But this time it was just because the raven had sounded so... so defensive, and almost hurt.

"What can we do?" The menacing voice was followed with the dark eyes narrowing and searching something from Naruto's face. Leaning a little closer, Sasuke shook off the hand from his shoulder and instead pressed his own one on Naruto's thigh, making the blonde flinch from surprise, his eyes widening.  
"Wouldn't it be easy for you?" His voice was barely above a whisper, yet it reached Naruto's ears better than it would if Sasuke had been shouting. Something there made his insides clench unpleasantly.  
"You could easily sit down between my legs and tend my wounds and then 'suddenly' realize that I'm actually wearing nothing but this useless rag and you'd slide your h-mmph!"

Something inside Naruto snapped and he pressed his hand almost violently over Sasuke's mouth, his other hand holding the pale neck to prevent the man from escaping his hold. His eyes were sparkling with anger, hurt showing through even though the blonde obviously tried to hide it.  
"How can you even think I'd do something like that?" Naruto growled, finding it hard to look into Sasuke's eyes. It really stung, knowing that the other really believed he'd do something so... so obscene, something that was so wrong. He would never... Never.

The dark eyes widened even more and Sasuke made an attempt to pull away from the hold, but the hand tightening around the back of his neck froze him still.

"Don't!" Naruto snapped, moving his hand lower a tad so Sasuke could breath properly through his nose. Then he fell silent, watching the ex-dancer calmly. The anger slowly died from his eyes, leaving them almost tranquil blue, but as the raven slowly started to relax, a hint of sadness dipped into the blue pools and stayed there.

It wasn't Sasuke's fault that he was acting like that. It was more like learned manners, something he'd grown used to, and Naruto couldn't really blame him. He was only sorry for Sasuke.

Feeling a bit awkward again, Naruto cleared his throat and slowly pulled his hand back from Sasuke's mouth.  
"I would never do anything like that to you, Sasuke." His voice was firm and convincing as he spoke, keeping his eyes locked with Sasuke's. He knew the blisters on the other's legs had to hurt, but right now he couldn't really spare a thought to bandaging them; all that mattered was convincing Sasuke about his motives.  
"I'm not like that."

Sasuke seemed to hesitate and his gaze dipped lower, to Naruto's heaving chest and finally to his own hand that was still holding Naruto's thigh.  
"Why?" he asked, his voice quiet. Not weak, just low, as if he was afraid of shattering something by speaking too loud. He didn't raise his gaze until he had peeled off his fingers from Naruto's leg and set them to his lap.  
"Why would I believe you? I saw you looking at me in Soundsville, and after that, in that hotel..." Sasuke's voice hadn't been a tad bitter or accusing as he said that, only firm and slightly confused, as if he really didn't understand that Naruto actually wanted only to help him.

It made another sting of hurt and disappointment pinch Naruto's chest, and he couldn't understand why. He barely knew the guy, and yet he couldn't help feeling somehow betrayed when Sasuke so clearly voiced his distrust. And damn it, he swung only for ladies!

But then again, how did you explain such things to someone like Sasuke?

Biting his lip, Naruto pushed himself off the bed, refusing to wince at the way Sasuke immediately leaned backwards to be able to keep an eye on him. That guy seriously had some trust issues. Raking his fingers through his hair, Naruto gave the man just one more look, unable to say anything else. The disappointment still welled inside him and the anger hadn't disappeared either, it was making his fingers itch. He was so tempted to just punch some sense into Sasuke's thick head, but he knew it wouldn't be worth it. Hitting the man would definitely do nothing good to their already tricky relationship. Idly Naruto wondered if the other would ever be able to truly relax around him.

"It's okay", he finally stated although it really wasn't. It was not okay, he didn't want to leave Sasuke tend his wounds alone, he wanted to help! But he knew he couldn't.  
"I won't touch you. Tell me when you're ready."

With that, Naruto walked over to the window and kept his back turned to the room and most importantly, to Sasuke. He folded his arms across his chest and tried to appear relaxed despite the troubling thoughts going through his mind. Just last night Sasuke had been okay with sleeping in the same bed with him, there had been nothing like a scene like this, yet now... Now the raven appeared a lot more tense than before.

Naruto almost turned around as he heard a noise like a quiet whine from the bed, but he held himself back, trying to shut out everything. In a sense he blamed himself for the wounds on Sasuke's legs; he should've realized that the raven wasn't used to riding and that he hadn't probably even been outside that much, not when Rattlesnake had been hiding his gender so carefully. He shouldn't have made Sasuke ride two days straight, not with that short pause at that small town, and after doing some quick calculations in his head Naruto came to the conclusion that he could afford at least a couple of nights more in this place if necessary. They had to let Sasuke's thighs heal at least a little bit before putting him on horseback again, and...

Just thinking about horses made Naruto wince. He had long ago realized that while Whirl was a strong little being, he wasn't used to carrying double weight and by walking himself Naruto would just slow them down. Which meant that he should buy Sasuke a horse, and that was something he couldn't afford. Sighing, Naruto turned his eyes to the curtains, inspecting a couple of loose threads as if he'd seen nothing so interesting in a while.

What had seemed like a perfect maiden-rescue in the beginning had turned out to be a lot more complicated and expensive than Naruto had never expected.

"Done."

A quiet word snapped him out of his thoughts and he turned around, only to see Sasuke already having crawled under the blanket. The raven wasn't facing him, but even from the distance Naruto could see that his shoulders were tense. He almost didn't manage to fought off the urge to go comfort him.

Without as much as one word Naruto walked over to their bed, starting to undress. Suddenly he was feeling tired, his limbs heavy and eyelids threatening to fall shut at any moment. He let his clothes crumble on the floor and he slid to the bed wearing only his union suit, a huge yawn almost dislodging his jaw. The pillow was nicely soft under his head and he could feel sleep flooding over his as soon as he lay his head on it. Naruto never got even halfway through the mumbled 'Goodnight Sasuke' before his breathing grew even and he curled up in his sleep, knees almost touching his chest.

Had he been awake longer he might've seen the dark-haired man on the other side of the bed lying awake for hours, trying to keep his aching thighs apart while keeping his toes from touching Naruto.

And when Naruto opened his eyes in the morning, he woke up in an empty room.

After blinking a couple of times and calling out for Sasuke in low voice just in case the man was hiding somewhere in the room, the bounty hunter did the only thing he could; he hit his head to the pillow and swore until his lungs were empty.

To be honest, Naruto felt like hitting his head against something much harder and maybe even sharper. He had been a complete fool, forgetting to lock the door. He had trusted Sasuke blindly while knowing hardly anything about the man, and the bits and pieces he had collected should've warned him about putting too much faith in him. Living under Rattlesnake's wing was unlikely to make anyone trustworthy.

After whacking himself on the head once more with his hand, Naruto pushed himself up from the bed and started to dress up. Now was not the time to start blaming himself, it was still rather early and if he was lucky and Sasuke hadn't left long ago, he'd still have a chance to catch the man. He wasn't exactly sure why it meant so much whether he managed or not, but he just knew he had to prevent Sasuke from running away.

As he sprinted out of the room with his shoes on the wrong feet, not even bothering to lock the room after himself, Naruto couldn't help bitterly congratulating Sasuke in his head. That had been a perfect plan, indeed. The raven had gotten out of Soundsville with his help, made Naruto pay for a couple of nights in hotels and the blonde had even given him a ride to a slightly bigger town. Naruto had never asked him a single thing and just a vague mention of another reward had been enough to convince Naruto to let him tag along. If he had thought about it rationally though, he would've realized that reward or not he would've kept Sasuke with him, but now he just wanted to be angry with the man.

The man standing behind the counter in the hotel lobby opened his mouth to a greeting but Naruto only waved at him quickly, not stopping even when the man tried to shout something after him. There were still some of their stuff in the room so if the hotel staff went to check, they'd know he was going to come back. Too bad he couldn't say the same about Sasuke.

The morning was warm, the sun greeting him with soft yet bright light that made him frown. It was going to be a hot day again, then. Well, that might slow Sasuke down a little since the man hadn't been able to handle the heat that well. Where would he be going anyway, did he have relatives or something somewhere? And how would he...

The blue eyes rounded at a realization and then Naruto was running again, towards the small stable of the hotel. If that bastard had taken his horse, he swore he wouldn't rest until he had Sasuke locked away in the coldest and most disgusting prison he could imagine. His chest was heaving and momentarily he saw red as he yanked open the stable door, a peaceful sight greeting him.

Nothing had changed after he had left Whirl here last night. Not even a single horse was missing and the only new thing was a startled young man in the back corner, staring right at Naruto. He had been apparently feeding his horse, the brown animal huffing irritably as the food service had been interrupted. The man had his hand on his hip, ready to draw his gun, but as Naruto just stood there and did nothing, he slowly relaxed and turned to his horse again.

Not knowing how long he had actually stood there, Naruto finally released a breath and walked over to Whirl's stall, a soft neigh greeting him as he leaned against the horse's side. Whirl turned to look at him, the round eye appearing almost concerned as the animal watched his owner as if trying to ask him what was wrong. It was one of those moment when Naruto silently swore horses were at least as intelligent as humans, screw what everyone else said. At least Whirl was more sensitive to feelings than many of the humans he had met.

Resting his forehead on the stallion's back, Naruto reached to run his fingers through the horse's mane, finding the rough texture somehow comforting. The thought of maybe losing Whirl had hit him surprisingly hard, but he did understand it. Whirl was all he had, after all.

He felt the horse sigh, the round barrel rising and then sinking again, and Naruto couldn't help but to let out a little laugh. Suddenly he felt a little stupid, and Whirl still hadn't stopped staring at him, but now there seemed to be a mocking look in the only visible eye. Naruto blinked and then smiled sheepishly.

"Yeah yeah, boy, I know. You would never leave without me. Now don't worry, I'm gonna go gather some information about that prissy lady you had to carry and then we'll get going. We have some hunting to do." He patted Whirl on the croup and turned to walk away, grinning brightly at the man that was again staring at him. What, it couldn't be that weird to have someone talking to their horse! Many people did that, after all. At least Naruto had always thought so.

He waved goodbye at the guy in the stable before walking out, the sun almost blinding him. It was going to be a really hot day, that was for sure, and again he felt rather grateful for it. At least Sasuke wouldn't be getting far with no equipment.

Naruto tugged the scarf cover his face better and then flicked his hat to the back of his head, untamed blond locks falling to his forehead. He'd have to cut his hair sometime soon again, it was getting a bit too long to be comfortable and he really needed a shave too, his stubble was starting to itch. Or perhaps just a good bath could do. Shrugging carelessly the man turned around a corner, finding the hotel doors again in front of him. A sigh escaped his lips only to be caught in the scarf and he stuffed his hands to his pockets for a moment, kicking a small stone on the road like a little kid.

The truth was, Naruto had no idea where to begin his search.

Grumbling to himself the blond turned to the hotel, glaring at the doors before deciding to step in. He could as well ask someone if they had any idea where Sasuke could've gone to.

But before he could take a single step, the same man that had tried to stop him earlier opened the door, his eyes on Naruto.  
"Hey, mister!" The man shifted as if he was in a hurry but there was an irritated wrinkle between his dark brows.  
"Why didn't you stop when I shouted after you? I have a message for you." He had closed his mouth fast after saying that and Naruto could tell he had been about to add some kind of insult to the end of his sentence, but right now he didn't have time to dwell in the bad habits of this man.

"What message?" He asked a bit dumbly instead, his hand immediately flying up to scratch his ear. His anger was already quickly deflating but he refused to let it die and give way to hope that tried to gain footing.

"From that friend of yours." The man scoffed and rolled his eyes, showing clear disrespect.  
"Honestly, boy, no any kind of manners but I guess it could be expected from the likes of you..."

Naruto took a step closer, frustration flashing in his eyes. He didn't have time for listening to the man rambling about Sasuke's behavior, not even when he could definitely second what had been said.  
"Hey, the message? Do you really have one? If not, I'm really in a hurry here!"

The man rolled his eyes again.  
"And here comes another... Well, the message. 'I'll be back before noon.'" He clamped his mouth shut after that, staring at Naruto like expecting something rude again.

Naruto, on the other hand, had no intention of saying anything at all. Confusion flared up and left him feeling tired and somewhat stupid again. So, here he had been, so sure that Sasuke had ran away, and in reality he had...  
"Where did he go?" he asked suddenly, a frown crossing his face.

"He didn't say. Now please excuse me, I have customers..." It was an obvious excuse but Naruto let the man go, his mind already working on the new information.

Sasuke was still here. A ridiculously happy smile twisted Naruto features, the scarf hiding it from curious eyes as he strolled down the street, scanning the buildings with his eyes. Sasuke hadn't ran away when he had had a chance. He hadn't gone anywhere and more importantly, he hadn't left Naruto. That had to mean that he trusted the bounty hunter, at least a little bit.

Fighting the urge to laugh, Naruto skipped a little, waving happily at an elderly lady staring suspiciously at him. She raised her hand hesitantly in return and the blue eyes turned away from her, to the street in front of him. Now where could Sasuke be...? What business might he have in a town like this, it was such an ordinary place... Perhaps he had just went to get himself some clothes? Naruto chuckled at the thought, just because it wasn't all that impossible. He could see that Sasuke didn't really like the clothes he had been given.

The bounty hunter chuckled again, not even trying to fight down the odd feeling of happiness in his gut. He was still aware of the possibility of Sasuke lying to the man at the hotel, he could just as well run away with such a lie to make sure Naruto wouldn't go after him, but somehow Naruto just knew that was not the case. Sasuke was still here.

The clock ticked on and the noon came, meeting Naruto sitting in the hotel room. His eyes turned to the clock every half a minute and as the first minute after 12 o'clock sharp had passed the man was pacing nervously in the room, trying to make himself still believe in Sasuke. He hadn't been tricked, right? The raven was just a minute late after all, he might've had something really important to do before coming back...

It was a little more than a quarter past 12 when Naruto couldn't stand anymore. He turned around, giving the clock one last bitter look, and walked to the door, taking a deep breath. Sasuke wasn't the type to be late, so it was time to accept his defeat. He'd have to go running after the man for real.

As he opened the door, he found himself staring into a gun barrel.

Naruto froze, not daring to move an inch. Colorful curses went wild in his head, blaming him for being such a fool. Sasuke hadn't left the city after all, oh no. Instead, he had been doing some urgent shopping; something Naruto should've guessed to take it into account. The blonde had never really been afraid of death, and he wasn't now either, not even when he could practically see his life streaming in front of his eyes as the barrel pressed against his forehead.

The topmost feeling in his head was, however, disappointment.

"Heh", Naruto chuckled dryly, turning to look Sasuke in the eye.  
"Nice to see you came back." There was no fear in his voice as he spoke, but the way he refused blink was telling away how not confident he was. He couldn't let Sasuke out of his sight even for a second.

Sasuke didn't answer, just pressed the cold metal barrel harder against the tanned skin. His face was clear of any emotion as he stared into Naruto's eyes, neither of the men moving. Naruto was waiting for the shot and Sasuke for a reason to pull the trigger.

Time dragged on torturingly slowly, but finally the dark-haired man sighed and let the gun drop. Without a word he pushed past Naruto into the room, not noticing the way the blonde's shoulders slumped for a brief second from relief. He stopped in the middle of it, glancing around in the room. Naruto had packed up everything, it looked like he had been preparing to leave which was probably just the case, but other than that Sasuke couldn't make out what the had been thinking about his sudden disappearing act.

Naruto turned around slowly, staring at Sasuke's straight back and the gravity-defying haircut. He could feel that something had changed. Something in the air was telling him, even while he couldn't quite grasp it, but there was something in the way the man carried himself. Perhaps it came from the gun holster that was now wrapped around his hips or the clothes that didn't seem all that old or ragged anymore, or maybe it was caused by something that had happened inside the young man.

Either way, Naruto found himself thinking that he sort of liked the change.

And then Sasuke turned around, a smirk on his face.

"It wasn't even loaded, idiot."

TBC

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A/N: Thank you for reading this chapter ~


	4. Ride the high country

**Warnings:** Nothing much for this chapter  
**Disclaimer:** Characters are property of a certain Masashi Kishimoto, I'm just borrowing them.

**A/N:** Again, I can't thank you enough for the reviews! They really make my day every time and keep me going ~ (and thank you for the reviews on Pick me up as well! I'm glad you enjoyed that story too)  
But off to other things. This fic is keeping me insanely motivated. It's crazy, actually, because I've never been a fast writer, and yesterday I wrote over 5,000 words of this chapter. And I just feel like writing more and more. I'm sorry if the plot isn't moving on all that fast, but I promise something will start happening soon. See you in a few again, and I hope you enjoy this chapter as well~  
As for the song Naruto plays in the end, I didn't have anything clear in mind when I wrote it but now I think "Oh Shenandoah" might be the song. Or at least something similar to that. You might wanna listen to it.

Oh, and hey, if you have any ideas for what I should write for the NaruSasu day, please tell me. I'm kinda lacking a good idea and the time is running out again :'D

* * *

For Didi

* * *

"Oh, by the way. We have a new companion."

Sometimes Naruto just wanted to punch that smirk off Sasuke's face. That bastard just couldn't be any more arrogant and cocky, now could he? He had dropped those lines soon after the little episode with the gun, and then refused to tell Naruto anything more, hinting that much but never going into details seemed to give him some kind of twisted pleasure. It was almost as if Sasuke just enjoyed riling him up.

Then again, Naruto was pretty sure that was exactly the truth.

The dark-haired man had also refused to tell anything more about the gun he had with him and the new clothes, he had just waved his hand to dismiss all the questions, briefly muttering something about Rattlesnake. That, of course, had again alerted Naruto, making him briefly think that Rattlesnake had somehow come back to life and followed them just to give Sasuke a gun. It was a stupid idea and he knew it, but then again, his mind often worked funny ways.

After a quick lunch Naruto had finally pulled himself together and demanded Sasuke to hand over the gun when he obviously couldn't use it at all. Honestly, how could he know how to use a gun when Naruto was sure he hadn't been let close to them during all his time with Rattlesnake.

Sasuke scoffed, looking at Naruto as if the blonde had something wrong with his head.  
"What makes you think I can't shoot?" he asked scornfully, securing the belt around his hips. The revolver was resting in it's holster and looking rather innocent and peaceful, but Naruto could still remember the shock of seeing the barrel right in front of his face.

His golden brows knit together and he tugged the scarf over his face again, not wanting to be recognized. They were leaving already, Sasuke had refused to listen to any of his protests and all the questions about his legs were ignored blatantly, and it was better to leave a town as a stranger. There wasn't too many nights ride to Leaf Creek left anyway and Naruto was already looking forward to sleeping under an open sky. Watching the stars always helped him relax.

"Well, you obviously haven't had much time to practice, you were dancing and all that..." Naruto's voice trailed off as he realized how stupid he actually sounded.

And just when he was about to correct his words, Sasuke voiced his thoughts with the most condescending tone.  
"Do you think all I did there was dancing?" The raven shook his head and picked up his pace, heading to the stables.

Naruto felt his temper immediately flare, Sasuke's arrogance starting to slowly really get to him. He was getting tired of listening to the other's shit all the time, he had done his best to help the man and all Sasuke did was mocking him and trying to make him feel stupid.  
"Of course not!" he snapped, hurrying to keep up with Sasuke. Where was the man running anyway, they weren't in a hurry to get anywhere!  
"I just thought... Did Rattlesnake really let you have a gun?"

Naruto almost bumped into Sasuke's back, so unexpected was his sudden stop. They were almost at the stables already, the bounty hunter noticed, but it did a little to help his mood. He felt bad for Whirl already, having to make the poor horse carry that princess again.

"It's not", Sasuke began, his voice sounding weird to Naruto's ears,"that he let me have a gun. I had other... sources for such things. I'm not as helpless as you seem to think." His shoulders rose and fell again with a sigh and Naruto found himself staring at the dark spikes of hair again as they gently swayed in the light wind.

"And don't worry about that horse. I said we have a new companion, didn't I?"

With that, Sasuke was moving again, and as Naruto watched he stepped into the stable, leaving the blonde standing outside. In all honesty he just felt like banging his head to the board wall, the frustration accumulating and making his fists clench, but he couldn't bring himself to do anything about it. Regardless of what Sasuke had just said and how he now acted most of the time, Naruto knew, he just _knew_ that the raven wasn't that strong and that there was still something bothering him. Something wasn't right and he couldn't get over the feeling, and it was that premonition that held him back from bursting and taking it all out on Sasuke.

And besides, even if he did know how to pull the trigger, there was no way Sasuke would be any good if it came down to a fist fight. It would be like beating up a woman.

Letting out a heavy sigh, Naruto stomped his foot once before reluctantly following Sasuke into the building, carrying the necessary stuff with him.

This time, something definitely had changed. Now there was a new horse in the stall next to Whirl's, and right there with the horse stood Sasuke, attempting to bridle the resisting animal. Naruto stood silent, watching the man fight the horse, and it brought him great satisfaction to see that the horse was winning. It kept lifting its head so high in the air that Sasuke had no chance of reaching its muzzle, and the current situation seemed to annoy the raven to no end.

Clearing his throat Naruto took a step closer, schooling his featured into a neutral look. He was sure his laughter shone through his eyes, though, but lucky for him Sasuke refused to look his way, still trying to force the horse to obey him.

"Could I give you a hand?" Naruto asked as innocently as he could, his voice shaking lightly as he walked still closer, leaving all his stuff next to Whirl's stall.

Sasuke shot a murderous glare at him before hissing 'No!' between his teeth. For the horse, however, that little moment of distraction was enough. Gracefully the animal took a step to the side and Sasuke found himself squeezed between the stall's wall and the horse. Swearing out loud the raven attempted to push the animal away, the crushing intent clear in the large eyes that stared at him from a long head.

It started as a small, barely audible snicker. But when that was out, the sound grew louder and louder, finally drawing Sasuke's attention, until Naruto was starting to turn blue from holding his laughter in so he wouldn't scare the horses. He bit his hand, staring at Sasuke with wide eyes that laughed shamelessly at him, and finally he grabbed a blanket that was neatly folded on the top of one saddlebag on the floor, and pressed it against his mouth as he practically howled with laughter.

It was too much. It was just too much, seeing the arrogant I-can-do-everything-I-want bastard being fought off by a mere horse and then crushed to the wall, his dark eyes staring at Naruto with that look that should've scared him shitless but that was now just hilarious when the raven couldn't move an inch until the horse let him.

Apparently confused with the weird sound behind its back, the new horse was the first to give up and step aside. Not having expected such a thing Sasuke almost collapsed to the floor, his eyes glistening with anger as he glared at Naruto, only resulting in one more burst of laugh from the blonde. Scoffing as if he was actually hurt by such childish behavior, Sasuke turned back to the horse's head and grabbed the bristle from the floor. There was no way he'd give up the fight after making such a fool out of himself.

Ten minutes later Sasuke still had made no progress while Naruto had Whirl saddled and ready to go, the horse stepping impatiently in his stall. The latter man had secretly hoped that the raven would swallow his pride for once and use him as an example of how to bridle a horse, but that bastard had just turned his back on him and sworn under his breath in language Naruto was sure wasn't English.

His curiosity poked, the blue-eyed man left Whirl in his stall and walked over to Sasuke, keeping as much distance as he could to the dark horse that was apparently cradling some unfriendly thoughts in its head.

"What did you say?" he asked, trying to keep his tone conversational. Sasuke refused to look at him still, the dark eyes narrowing at the words.

"Nothing much." The pale hands were gripping the dark mane, trying to drag the horse's head down with force, without any success.

Naruto let out a heavy sighed as he watched the struggle, feeling like he should do something but not knowing what he could say without pissing Sasuke off again. Thoughtfully he reached forward and patted the horse, stepping immediately backward as he saw a hind leg raising from the ground and preparing to kick. Slightly bitter, Naruto couldn't help thinking that at least Sasuke had chosen a horse that matched his character.

However, he wasn't ready to drop the previous subject yet. Stepping closer to Sasuke, the blonde cleared his throat and reached to poke the other's back.  
"No, I meant that language. What was it?"

Sasuke still remained silent for a while until another curse escaped his lips when the horse tried to knock him off balance.  
"Spanish. I'm trying to... Damn it, stay still you ass... Her name is Rayo, so I figured she might respond to Spanish better..."

It was Naruto's turn to keep quiet, but this time it was from surprise. He stared at Sasuke, watching the man getting more and more frustrated with the mare, and tried to understand why it surprised him so much that Sasuke knew Spanish. It wasn't an uncommon language here and he should've guessed that Sasuke's only hidden skill wasn't shooting. Yet he just couldn't hide his surprise.

"You speak Spanish?" That was all Naruto got out, but before he had a chance to demand a response, Sasuke let out an odd, triumphant grunt and within seconds he had secured the bridle. Rayo shifted again restlessly, glaring daggers at both men and looking like she was preparing to crush one of them to the stall wall again.

Sasuke's hand came up like a snake, startling the horse, and grabbed the reins right below the bit, answering the mare's glare with an equal one.  
"_Ya no mas, chica_, stop that. You're going to be stuck with me for a while so you'd better start behaving...", he growled, staring the horse in the eye. For a moment neither of them moved, but finally Rayo let out a puff and stilled.

Naruto watched Sasuke's shoulders relax a little and he shook his head. Perhaps if he said something like that to Sasuke, the raven would start behaving and stop being so damn grumpy all the time. Now just wasn't the time to dwell in such thoughts and Naruto pushed them aside, patting the other on the shoulder.  
"Let's go, then?"

In less than fifteen minutes they were out of the town. During those minutes, though, Sasuke had been thrown to the ground twice, frustrating him to the point where he had decided to walk the horse until they were out of townspeople's sight. To his honor it had to be said that he hadn't let go of the reins one single time, even when his body had collided with the hard ground a couple of times. Rayo had looked rather upset about that, trying to tug the reins free to run away, but Sasuke had kept his hold and eventually the mare had stopped resisting.

Well, maybe she wasn't entirely calm as she walked forward next to Whirl and clacking her teeth at the brown animal every once in a while, but at least she wasn't attempting to buck off her rider with every chance she got.

"So... How come you can speak Spanish?" Naruto attempted to strike up a conversation. The silence bothered him, and as grateful as he was for being able to ride alone again he couldn't help worrying about Sasuke's legs. How much worse would they get before the night?  
"And where did you get money for a horse anyway?"

An impatient look crossed Sasuke's face and he made an attempt to relax, immediately rewarded with an irritated sidestep by his mount. The young man reached for the rim of his hat and adjusted it a little before shrugging nonchalantly.  
"He did lots of business with Spanish-speaking people, I had to learn", the raven answered shortly, adjusting his hold of the reins. He had a water bottle near now and every now and then he took a sip, not wanting to faint on Naruto again.

Naruto nodded, waiting for him to continue, but when the silence stretched out he glanced at Sasuke, just to see him closing his water bottle again. His lips were still glistening with the liquid and Naruto unconsciously licked his own.

"Not that it's any of your business."

Sasuke's harsh words brought another frown to Naruto's face but he decided not to say anything, seeing that Sasuke was going to continue.

"But I did have some money saved."

Naruto had to bite his tongue to keep from asking where he'd gotten it. He didn't want to know, really.

They fell into uncomfortable silence again, neither wanting to voice their thoughts. The constant fighting was starting to really get to Naruto, even if he did quite enjoy pissing Sasuke off. But to argue all the fucking time as if Sasuke really hated him, it was different to just annoying the other and then continuing their journey in good spirits.

Letting out an irritable sigh Naruto gave his companion another glance, trying to stealthily find out if Sasuke's legs hurt. Much to his surprise the raven didn't look half as uncomfortable he had expected. Sure, he winced every now and then when Rayo took a sidestep or two, but other than that he looked almost too relaxed, as if he had been born to saddle. Perhaps it resulted from the male's background as a dancer, but he moved really gracefully with the horse, not letting the mare surprise him even once anymore now that he had gained some of his confidence back. Of course there was still lots of clumsiness and unnecessary moving, but basically Sasuke was doing very well.

Grinning inwardly Naruto decided that Sasuke's choice of horse had indeed been perfect.

The bounty hunter realized he'd been staring a bit too long when the said raven turned to look at him, his eyes indifferent. Slowly the annoyingly graceful brows arched, as if asking what Naruto had in mind. He didn't look angry, a remark that made the blonde almost sigh in relief, but instead of sighing he just grinned.

"You ride pretty well. Did you have a chance to practice that too at Rattlesnake's?"

The way Sasuke tensed for a moment made Naruto afraid that he might've asked the wrong question, but as soon as Rayo noticed the change and started stepping nervously the raven relaxed again.

"No."

He brushed dark strands away from his face and pressed his legs tighter against the mare's barrel, Rayo immediately picking up speed.

"But I used to. Before I... went to live with the Snake." Sasuke's voice sounded distant and Naruto couldn't help feeling left out. He knew, however, that he shouldn't ask anything more.

Being him, it would've been a disappointment if he didn't.

"Oh? And how long ago was that?"

Sasuke gave him a dark glare.  
"You don't need to-"

Frustrated, Naruto threw his hands in the air, his smile completely disappeared again.  
"Fine, bastard! Keep your secrets! I just... I'm just curious, okay? So stop acting like I'm going to turn everything you say against you."

To be honest, Naruto wasn't half as angry as he was pretending to be, he just wanted to see Sasuke's forehead wrinkle as he frowned and he wanted... He wanted a real reaction. Not a snappy remark about how he was asking the wrong question, no, he wanted to see something else. And if he had to get angry to see it, he would.

"And now, because you're such a perfect rider already, let's put your skills to a test..."

Naruto would've never done it if he hadn't believed Sasuke could get through it, he wasn't mean like that. But because the raven seemed so comfortable in saddle, Naruto didn't hesitate as he let out a loud yell that was probably meant to resemble a war cry of the Indians. Whirl picked up his pace immediately, his hooves stomping the ground with the fast gallop, and Naruto didn't have to look back to check if Sasuke was following. He had heard the shocked yelp from the raven's direction and he had the feeling Rayo was not only stubborn, but also extremely competitive.

_Very_ extremely competitive as it appeared.

Naruto had barely adjusted to the new tempo when something dark flashed past them, leaving only a cloud of dust in its wake. The blonde blinked and quickly tugged the scarf to protect his mouth from the dust, trying to focus on the horse and its rider in front of him. Well, at least Sasuke hadn't fallen off.

"Damn it... Hurry up, boy!"

Not needing anything more, Whirl sprinted on, determined to catch the mare that was dashing uncontrollably forward. From here Naruto couldn't see it clearly, but he had the feeling Sasuke was just clinging to the saddle and trying not to fall.

Oh well. The man grinned wildly, letting out another yell. Adrenaline rushed through his body and at that moment, he wouldn't have cared if that was their last day together and Sasuke would never spill his guts to him.

And besides, if the raven didn't fall off, they could have a good laugh about this later.

Sasuke had managed to cling to the saddle after all, but as predicted he hadn't been able to stop Rayo anytime soon. The mare hadn't even let Naruto close enough to grab the reins, so the blonde had just settled to following them until the dark horse was exhausted enough to slow down. With the amount of equipment they were carrying, it was a small wonder that nothing had fallen off. Naruto had apparently done good job with tying everything to the saddle.

After that, the blonde had had his laugh but Sasuke not so much; the raven had refused to give him a word, not even a single glance was spared to his direction as Sasuke tried to relax in the saddle. Naruto couldn't help a tiny pinch of guilt as he noticed how the raven tried to keep his legs away from the saddle, a look of pain crossing the sharp features briefly. Perhaps it had been a bit too much, after all.

For once, Naruto's memory had served him right, and in the late afternoon they arrived at a small river. It was somehow solemn-looking as it meandered through the prairie, trees and bushes bordering both banks, and even if it wasn't marked in any way Naruto knew that there was a bank that could be used for crossing the river just half a mile downriver. He had planned to go over to the other side tonight, but seeing as exhausted both Sasuke and his mount were, he couldn't bring himself to suggest moving on.

"We're staying here for the night", he announced and let Whirl stop before he dismounted and dropped the reins to the ground. Naruto didn't dare to look as he heard Sasuke slowly getting down, and a muffled thud signalized that the raven had most likely fallen down. Much to his luck, Rayo appeared too tired to run off.

Walking Whirl to the shade under the trees near the river, Naruto heard Sasuke follow him, Rayo huffing and puffing as if displeased about something. She probably was, though, the only thing Naruto had seen her like was running like mad; other than that the mare looked just as annoyed with everything as her new owner.

"We're putting up a camp here. Give her to me and go gather some firewood so we can make a fire." Naruto held out his hand to Sasuke's direction, expecting to get the reins, but nothing happened. After a moment of waiting, the man turned around, to meet Sasuke's slightly disapproving gaze.

"What?" he asked, confused, not even trying to guess what was going on inside Sasuke's head.

"I... Firewood?" The raven looked honestly surprised, and he slowly handed over the reins to Naruto, looking around.  
"You expect me to go gather something from _there_?" He pointed at the trees, his eyes turning slightly nervous as he glanced down at the bushes.

A frown crossed Naruto's face as he turned to look at the same direction, expecting to see at least an Indian lurking in the shadows. Seeing nothing, he turned to Sasuke again, ignoring Rayo's impatient nudging.  
"What's wrong with that? They're just trees."

Sasuke looked even more uneasy, the emotion showing through even though he was trying to hide it.  
"Nothing, I just... Whatever." He shrugged and turned around, walking oddly with his legs spread.

Naruto would've chuckled at the sight had he not been pitying the raven.

He had started whistling again as he took off the saddles from both horses and tied Rayo to a tree that was a bit separated from the rest. The ground was clear here so it was easy to make sure there was no snakes or anything else near it. Whirl was left free, and immediately the horse wandered a bit further, starting to nibble at the grass on the ground. Near rivers it was always greener and apparently more tasty.

Naruto had just put the second saddle down and started looking around for some larger rocks to use for the fire when he heard someone approaching. Quickly he glanced up, hand already on his gun, just to see Sasuke staring at him with around fifteen sticks in his hands.

"What is it?" Naruto asked, concern lacing his voice. Perhaps Sasuke was not feeling good? He did look rather odd again.

"I'm done." The finality in Sasuke's tone caught the other by surprise, and Naruto's eyes darted to the gathered sticks again.

He snorted.  
"No, you're not. That's hardly enough to start the fire, those sticks will never keep the fire alive long enough to ever warm the water."

Sasuke's eyes narrowed and let the sticks fall to the ground, crossing his arms across his chest.  
"I _am_. I did what you asked, idiot, I gathered you the wood you asked for. It's your own fault for not stating how much you needed."

Naruto found himself gawking at the raven, the incredulous look making his eyes wide. What the fiery hell, was Sasuke really serious? He couldn't be, that had to be a joke...  
"Are you kidding me?" he asked, scanning Sasuke's face with his eyes to find even a hint of a joke there.

"Of course not." The pale jaw looked tense and the raven took a step back, glaring down at Naruto.

Suddenly the blonde realized that Sasuke looked defensive, and the understanding struck him.

The ex-dancer hadn't known. He had probably never made a fire before, at least not after he had been taken to Orochimaru, and he had no idea how to make a fire, let alone to keep it alive. He knew nothing about real life, making a camp, things that were part of Naruto's everyday life.

But then again, Naruto had been under the impression that Sasuke had some common sense in his head. The way he was acting now... It was unbelievable. No matter how inexperience he was, Sasuke couldn't honestly think such tiny sticks would be any good, now could he?

Taking a deep breath, Naruto forced himself to remain calm. For a moment he considered telling the man to gather the rocks and go search for wood by himself, but realizing that the raven would probably make them a small circle of pebbles he gave up the idea and just shook his head, standing up.

"Right. Well, you should go gather some more. We'll be lucky if we can even light the fire with those. We're going to need at least five times that much and larger chunks of wood if there's any." Silently, Naruto congratulated himself for how calm and collected he had sounded.

Tthe irritated look on Sasuke's face didn't change as he listened, looking like he was getting ready to punch the blonde in the face.

To Naruto's surprise, he didn't. Instead, Sasuke's lips pressed together into a thin line and he nodded sharply, turning around. Naruto watched the tense figure retreat quickly to the trees and he had the feeling he had heard a quiet "Fine!" but he couldn't be entirely sure.

Frustration flaring again, the blonde angrily kicked the sticks on the ground, immediately feeling bad about what he had done. Glancing up to make sure Sasuke hadn't noticed, he knelt down and quickly gathered the sticks to a small pile. Even if it wasn't much, at least Sasuke had collected them and it should count as something; Naruto rarely looked down on the work someone had done, as long as it was the result of one doing their best.

Collecting the rocks was more difficult than Naruto had expected, and finally he found himself knee-deep in the river, trying to fish some larger stones from the bottom. He glanced at Sasuke's direction every now and then to make sure the raven was alright, and after a while he had found enough of materials for their campfire. Smiling to himself he climbed out of the river, water dripping from his sleeves and hair; he had the ability to get himself wet all over even when there wasn't much water at all.

The sun was already starting to set so Naruto's moves were rushed as he quickly cleared the ground and made a circle of the stones, setting the sticks Sasuke had brought before to the middle of it. Then he sat down and waited for Sasuke to come back. And waited. And waited.

"Sasuke?" he finally called after a long moment of impatient fidgeting. He was freakin' _hungry_, he didn't want to wait any longer!  
"You alive?"

Receiving no answer, Naruto jumped to his feet, scanning the lines of trees for Sasuke. Nothing was moving there as far as he was concerned, and anxiety peeked inside him. Where in the name of heavens had that stupid bastard gone now? Naruto really wasn't the one to act as a babysitter for a grown-up man like this.

Regardless of is less happy thoughts, Naruto was already half-running towards the place where he'd seen Sasuke last, calling his name out again. Still no answer, and his imagination was starting to do tricks on him. It was getting dark and Sasuke wasn't used to places like this... There wasn't enough trees for any kind of larger animal to hide behind, but the raven probably wasn't looking at his feet and sometimes some venomous snakes hid under those bushes. Naruto ignored the fact that it was getting dark and no snake would want to hide under any kind bush in a time like this. The environment wasn't the one for them either, but he really couldn't control his imagination all that well.

A dry leaf cracked under his boots and made the blonde almost jump. God, he was getting way too nervous, he would've noticed if anything had happened to Sasuke...  
"Sasuke! Where are you?" Naruto knew this was unreasonable. Sasuke had a revolver with him and who knew what other weapons and he obviously knew how to use them, so he shouldn't be in any danger, and besides, the area really was _tiny_.

"Aargh!" Naruto's yell broke the semi-silence and he jumped backwards, landing on his behind on the ground. He had a gun in his hand, pointing at the person that had scared him, but as soon as he realized who exactly he was threatening to fill with bullets he immediately let it drop, his chest heaving.

Sasuke glared right back at him, having just stood up from where he'd been kneeling behind a large bush, gathering some wood he had dropped. He didn't say anything, but as he watched Naruto's startled appearance his mouth twitched and the irritating smirk crept to his face.

Naruto immediately decided he wouldn't have cared if that bastard had ended up being eaten.

"So impatient to see me?" Sasuke asked, his voice laced with amusement, and all Naruto could do was climb to his feet and glare at the man.

"Very funny", he growled, his manly pride obviously hurt, and the dusted his pants.  
"Hurry up, bastard, you've been here for ages. I need the wood for the fire!"

Sasuke's smirk was slowly dying away and a frown replaced it, his eyebrow twitching.  
"I didn't take that long, so stop yelling at me. I was coming right back."

"I'm not yelling at you!"

"Yes you are. What's the matter anyway, it's not that dark yet."

Naruto was starting to see red, Sasuke's indifference pissing him off for real.  
"I'm not! And that is not the point! You just... You don't get it!" He almost stomped his feet, but not wanting to lose the remains of his dignity he just spun around and strode back to where he had started to build the campfire.

Naruto already had a small flame slowly eating away the first sticks when Sasuke finally walked over and dropped the wood he'd gathered far enough from the fire. He didn't say a thing as he walked away from it to Rayo and untied the horse, taking her over to the river to drink.

Naruto watched from distance as the horse pressed down her head and started to drink in quick gulps, the slender human figure standing next to her with his hand resting on her shoulder. It was a peaceful, relaxing sight, right now those two were radiating such harmony that Naruto hadn't believed was possible. The moment was quiet, the sun still looming over the horizon and shining down on the prairie, and the only sounds were a few birds chirping in the trees and some smaller animals or perhaps lizards moving further away, their feet creating low rustling noise.

Turning back to the fire Naruto sighed, the moment broken for him. Slowly he started feeding more wood to the flame, watching it grow. As soon as he'd get it burn steadily enough he'd set a Dutch oven on it to boil some water and make them something to eat. He was almost tempted to ask Sasuke if he had ever done any cooking at Rattlesnake's, but remembering their little fight earlier he held himself back, biting his tongue. No need to start another fight.

That was also why he waited until Sasuke had Rayo tied to the tree again before moving over to the river to fill the Dutch oven with water. Naruto was almost sure he could feel eyes on his back, but despite the shiver running down his spine he refused to turn around, not wanting to meet the scornful black eyes just yet. He even went as far as keeping his eyes on the ground as he returned to the campfire, just to find Sasuke sitting there, giving more wood to the flame.

Naruto sat down as well and set the three-legged pot on the fire, placing the lid on the top of it. Still not looking at Sasuke he got up again and went to grab some dried meat and beans as well as some hardtack from his saddle bag, bringing along one fork and two smaller cups for eating. While Sasuke had been away in the previous town he had done some shopping for necessary things, also adding a new harmonica to the list. The said instrument was now resting in his pocket, waiting to be used.

Sasuke was still sitting in the same spot, staring at the fire with his legs spread just enough to prevent his thighs from touching each other. He had an unreadable look on his face and his hair was covering his other eye, hiding his feelings from Naruto. Not that the bounty hunter had ever been able to read the raven well, but whatever.

Naruto didn't realize he had been staring before Sasuke finally raised his gaze to meet the blue eyes and a tiny smirk twisted his mouth. The blonde froze for a second before answering the smirk with a smile, satisfaction bubbling inside him as he saw Sasuke relax a little.

"You could go swimming, you know", he found himself saying before curiosity took over and he just had to peek into the pot. Nothing was happening there yet, but then again, this wasn't the fastest cooking method, and no matter how hungry he was he refused to eat his hardtack without softening it first. He had had a bit too much of it during the years.

Sasuke arched his brows before glancing at the river and then the setting sun. They would have light maybe for half an hour, and after that it would be too dark to really move around. He seemed to hesitate before shaking his head.  
"I don't think I will", he answered flatly, standing up anyway. It wasn't that he didn't feel dirty all over, but more like he didn't really enjoy cold water. Perhaps he could just talk Naruto over to visiting a bath house while in Leaf Creek...

"Why not?" Naruto inquired, throwing another chunk of food to the fire. He backed of a little, the heat starting to get a bit too intense for him.

"I don't feel like it." Again, his words and actions didn't match. Sasuke walked slowly closer to the river again, fishing white bandage straps from another saddle bag, and then made his way to the river bank.

Naruto watched the raven as he quickly stripped off his pants and sat down on the ground on them, starting to unwrap the bandages from his thighs. By what he could judge from here, the bounty hunter didn't think the other was in too much pain, but that didn't really tell anything. As said, Sasuke was really good at hiding what he felt.

Feeling like an unwanted stalker, watching Sasuke like that, Naruto turned back to the fire and checked the water again. Steam was beginning to rise from under the lid so it was at least heating up and without a second thought Naruto threw in the dried strips of meat as well as the beans. The hardtack could wait until they had a nice broth ready, so he left the food on the fire and went over to get their sleeping blankets.

"You were worried about me."

For the second time today Naruto jumped from surprise, not having expected Sasuke's voice from right behind him. He didn't turn around though, but bent down to grab the blankets they needed. The saddles were close enough to the fire to be safe and he was going to stay awake for a while to keep watch anyway.

When he didn't answer anything, Naruto heard Sasuke shifted behind him.  
"...weren't you?"

For some reason, the bounty hunter felt like Sasuke could've been speaking to himself as well as to him. His shoulders slumped as he nodded slowly, finally turning to look as the raven again.  
"Maybe I was. Got a problem with that?"

Sasuke stared at Naruto for a moment before shaking his head and grabbing his own blanket from Naruto.  
"No."

And with that, they returned to the campfire, just to find the water boiling happily and a scent of meat reaching their noses.

Naruto's stomach immediately let out a loud rumble and he chuckled, ignoring Sasuke's disapproving snort. The blankets were set to the ground and he hurried to check the pot, the delicious scent of the meat hitting even harder. His stomach churned from hunger but he forced himself to think about Sasuke as well.

The raven had set his blankets on the other side of the fire and was now sitting on them, again watching the fire. He didn't appear to be hungry at all, but now that he had changed the bandages he didn't look as pained as he had before. Naruto hoped it was a sign of the blisters maybe starting to heal, even if it was too early for that in reality.

The young bounty hunter reached to the pot and stirred it with the large fork he had, picking up a piece of meat and testing if it had softened at all.

After a while they both had cups of the broth in front of them, pieces of meat and some beans in the liquid. Naruto had also advised Sasuke to put a piece of hardtack to his cup to let it soften like a dumpling, but the raven had refused and informed him that he'd rather have his crackers cracking. Naruto had just shrugged and murmured about idiots who wanted to break their teeth before dumping two large pieces of the said cracker to his cup.

They ate in appreciative silence, the nature providing enough noise to keep the uncomfortable feeling away. The sun had set already and behind Naruto the moon was looming low on the sky, the stars slowly lighting up on the dark sky. The shadows casted by the fire danced on the ground and both men, closing them into the small circle of light on the prairie as well as shutting everything else out.

Naruto found himself again staring at Sasuke, fascinated by the way the shadows played on his face. One moment they would be making his eyes completely hidden in the darkness, and no more than second later the flames were reflected vividly in the dark orbs that served as mirrors for them. The light made his lips glisten thanks to the remains of the broth on them and his dark hair had an odd glow in it, the air around him appearing suddenly a lot more mysterious. Naruto narrowed his eyes and for a moment as the flames cast the shadows differently Sasuke resembled his old self, Raven, the wild dancer from the stage so much that it caused an odd flip in Naruto's stomach.

Quickly the man turned his eyes away, back to his food, and he stared wolfing it down, trying to drown his thoughts on the food. He didn't even try to understand why his heart was suddenly beating faster and his eyes kept drawing to Sasuke again and again, he only concentrated to fight down those needs. Naruto knew he shouldn't be feeling like this, he knew that Sasuke wasn't Raven, that whoever Raven had been didn't exist anymore, not in the sense she had before.

Raven had been a reflection of their desires, and now that she was gone, Naruto's feelings for her should've been too. Except that they weren't, and it made the blonde really nervous.

To ease it out he set down his cup after finishing his meal, deciding that he'd go wash it quickly in the morning, and then dug the harmonica from his pocket with shaky hands.

Sasuke glanced up from his broth when Naruto started playing, the rusty notes making him cringe. But as he played, the blonde got more confident with his tiny instrument and the simple melody started to flow slowly and naturally, replacing the noises from the night.

His eyes now fixed in Naruto, Sasuke set his almost-empty cup to the ground and focused on listening to Naruto. He had crossed his legs Indian style and hands resting in his lap as he focused on the simple music, his fingers gently tapping the rhythm on his leg. In a way he almost felt like dancing, his toes curling, because despite the fact that he'd been forced to do it, Sasuke had never hated the dancing. It had been the audience and the way of dancing, but not the dancing itself.

Sighing almost a bit sadly, he grabbed a small saddle bag and placed it on his blanket, meaning to use it as a pillow. But he never made it to the temporary bed as Naruto changed the song, making the dark eyes focus intensely on him again.

The sharp look on Sasuke's face made Naruto frown and he cut the song, tilting his head with a worried look.  
"Something wrong?" he asked with low, soft voice, not wanting to destroy the almost intimate atmosphere there was at the moment.

Sasuke appeared to be thinking about the question for a while, his head hanging lower. Even while not seeing his eyes, Naruto could tell the raven was still watching him.

"No, I don't think so", Sasuke finally answered, and for once his voice was completely devoid of its usual arrogance. In fact, it was almost sad.

"Then what is it?" Naruto urged on, gently and carefully as if to not scare away a wild animal. He could see that Sasuke wasn't totally okay and regardless of what the raven said, something was bothering him.

Sasuke didn't raised his head as he answered, his voice low and thoughtful.  
"I think my mother used to sing that song often..."

Naruto's breath caught. This was the first time Sasuke had ever mentioned his family voluntarily, and the blonde just knew it had to mean something.  
"I see", he spoke softly, a smile still on his face before he moved the harmonica back to his lips and started that same song again from the beginning, closely watching Sasuke's face.

This time, the raven slowly raised his gaze to the bounty hunter, but he didn't seem to be looking at Naruto but rather through him, at something that had been gone for a long time now. The only movement were his fingers that were again moving to the rhythm, and his hair shifting as warm wind blew through it. The flames were slowly dying and creating a softer glow on his face, emphasizing the lost look on the slim face.

The song ended after a moment, and Naruto let the instrument fall from his lips. Sasuke seemed to snap out of his daze but slower than Naruto had predicted, and without another word the raven crept to his blankets and curled under one, his head on the saddle bag. After giving Naruto one more mysterious look he rolled over to face away from the fire, leaving Naruto feeling confusingly alone.

Yet as he sat in the silence, the blonde was sure he heard a murmured "good night", and a smile graced his features.  
"Good night, bastard", he half-whispered in return, knowing that Sasuke would hear him anyway.

A cry of a coyote startled Naruto awake from his dozing state. He was sitting on his blanket, facing the dying fire and his chin pressed against his chest as he'd fallen asleep. A huge yawn splitting his face he yawned and rubbed his eyes, glancing at the sky. It was hardly past the midnight yet and sleep was lurking so close, making the idea of crawling under the blanket and sleeping until sunrise more tempting than anything else.

If only he'd been alone. When he was, Naruto usually had no trouble sleeping, even if there was no-one to watch over him, but for some reason he now felt like he was responsible for Sasuke's safety and that made him try to stay awake, even if it was almost killing him. He was a man that needed his sleep, if only to keep his sanity. The bounty hunter could easily stay awake through the night if necessary, but it was to happen on a rare occasion and now wasn't the time.

Stifling another yawn, Naruto reached to throw more food to the fire, not wanting to stay awake in the dark. It wasn't that he minded the darkness much when he had to sleep, but he didn't really like being surrounded by the shadows when he was up. Even for someone that had practically raised himself on the prairie, there was something about the darkest nights, something that made his skin crawl. Or maybe it was just the knowledge that they were getting closer to that old haunted ranch near Leaf Creek...

Refusing to think about ghosts or anything alike, Naruto turned to look at Sasuke, a soft smiling appearing to his face uninvited. The raven had been sleeping peacefully, but just before Naruto had started dozing off the pale man had rolled over to his back, frowning in his sleep. Then he had stopped moving altogether again, his covers revealing only a bit of his neck and his left hand.

Naruto felt his smile slowly melt away as his hand twitched, urging him to walk over and brush some strands of hair away from Sasuke's sleeping face. The only thing keeping him still was knowing that his efforts wouldn't be appreciated. Sasuke was more likely to punch him than anything else.

Well, that, and Naruto knew that it would be good to put some distance between himself and Sasuke for now. It was still bothering him how clearly he had seen Raven on the other man's face earlier that night, and it wasn't something he wanted to happen again. There were lots of other women in the world, it made no sense to grieve over the only one that had never been neither woman nor his in the first place.

Which was why Naruto found it extremely irritating how his gaze shifted back to Sasuke's sleeping form, resting there and taking in the other's relaxed appearance. Now that he wasn't frowning so much anymore, the blonde could again see why it was so easy to mistake Sasuke to a female in proper clothing and some paint on his face. His features were really delicate yet he didn't look all that fragile, not anymore now that Naruto had gotten used to him and knew what to look.

And for God's sake, when Sasuke opened his mouth, there was nothing fragile about him.

Sighing softly, Naruto tore his gaze away from the sleeping man and instead reached for the wood again, his hand then searching for his harmonica. He knew that Sasuke was quite a light sleeper, but perhaps he could play just quietly without waking him up; the silence was getting to his nerves.

And so he brought the instrument to his lips, starting out a low melody, but it came to a stop as soon as Sasuke let out a low groan and shifted, looking like he might've been waking up. Naruto frowned and put the harmonica down, settling to staring at the fire again. It was slowly dying, but he didn't feel like feeding it anymore. Maybe he was being only paranoid, nothing would come to them tonight. It was stupid to keep himself up like this when it was practically useless...

Yawning again, Naruto waited until the flames were almost gone and then slipped under his blanket, his eyes sliding shut almost immediately. He forced them open for one more second, to get the last look at Sasuke's face, and seeing the raven staring right back blew away all his sleepiness.

"What are you doing up?" Sasuke's voice sounded muffled and rough from sleep and Naruto doubted he was even truly awake.

A smile gracing his features again, Naruto got up and on the spur of the moment he dragged his blankets around the fire closer to Sasuke. It wasn't often that he had company, and he wanted to get everything out of it, already having forgotten his decision about staying away from Sasuke.

"Nothing much. Just go back to sleep, ma'am."

An irritated look crossed Sasuke's face as he heard that, but it was so lame it only made Naruto's smile wider.

"I'm no madam, you idiot..." he grumbled, his eyes drooping already. All in all, Sasuke looked like he would fall asleep at any second.

"Don't worry so much, it's okay..."

Naruto had no idea what the last comment had meant, but whatever it was it made him forget all the boundaries there was to break and he leaned closer, brushing hair off from Sasuke's face. His fingers slid over the soft cheek and slowly another hand came up, grabbing his.

For a moment, Sasuke turned to look at him, his eyes surprisingly clear, before a sigh escaped his lips and he let his eyes fall shut. He didn't, however, let go of Naruto's hand just yet, and for a moment the blonde just sat there, watching Sasuke's face and fighting the sudden and overwhelming urge to kiss him.

As said, there was something in the air during the darkest nights on the prairie, something different.


	5. Adiós, half soldier

**Warnings:** Nothing much for this chapter  
**Disclaimer:** Characters are property of a certain Masashi Kishimoto, I'm just borrowing them.

**A/N:** Wow, sorry this took me so long to write. But! This is a longer chapter than the ones before so don't complain (much). Thank you, again, for the reviews, they make me feel so inspired

* * *

For Didi

* * *

Moments like this made Naruto wonder if the reason behind Sasuke's grumpiness was lack of sleep. It would definitely explain all the glaring and the dark clouds he could almost see looming over the raven's head. He also understood that being tired from not sleeping well made one very easily angry, and knowing how annoying it was he tried to hold himself back the best he could.

Because indeed, today it was Naruto's turn to be moody.

He couldn't recall ever sleeping so little just because of dreams. He had kept waking up every now and then, surrounded by the darkness, but every time the clouds revealed the bright moon it would illuminate Sasuke's face that was right in front of Naruto, and the memories of his dreams would come crushing in.

Naruto attempted and failed to stifle a yawn, his eyes constantly trying to betray him and turn to look at Sasuke. The raven was riding on his right, looking as relaxed and comfortable as ever in the saddle. Rayo was of course the same as before, tugging the reins and doing some nervous stepping every now and then, but they had earlier figured out that she simply had too much energy for her own good. The saddling had again been quite a fight in the morning.

Naruto had finally got up by the dawn, starting to make them a simple breakfast that was almost identical to their meal last night. The only addition was coffee; there wasn't much of it but half a cup of coffee helped Naruto get up every morning. Sasuke had just wrinkled his nose at the dark liquid and refused to even taste when he had finally managed to get up. It was quite clear that he wasn't used to getting up so early.

They hadn't been talking much, but the oddly comfortable atmosphere still loomed over them, or so Sasuke thought. The raven had been so nice in his own way that Naruto felt almost guilty for being in such a bad mood.

He just couldn't help it. They packed up in silence and destroyed all the evidence of their little camp there, and all the time Naruto kept stealing quick looks at Sasuke, his eyes being drawn to the raven in a way that was definitely not natural. With every glimpse of dark hair and pale skin he got, he couldn't help but be reminded about his dreams.

They had been the same type as the ones he'd had back in Soundsville, when he had still been under the impression that Raven was a woman. Fortunately for both of them, these dreams he was now having had been a lot more tame, otherwise Naruto wouldn't have been able to look Sasuke in the eye at all. Even now it was difficult, and that's why he kept his gaze directed forward, avoiding looking at Sasuke. The memory of the dreams was fading already, but he could still recall how soft that milky skin had been under his fingers and how the raven had gasped due to his touch, every detail so vivid that Naruto could've almost sworn it had happened for real.

If Sasuke had noticed something was wrong, he had decided to ignore it, just enjoying the silence while it lasted. Naruto was rarely quiet, and even with the odd fidgeting he was now doing, being silent was more than fine with Sasuke. At least it spared him from the blonde's idiotic question, and to be honest he was still a bit too sleepy to start arguing about some minor thing. Waking up at sunrise was not his thing.

The sun kept climbing higher on the sky, and as more time passed Naruto started growing really anxious with the silence. He hated being quiet when there was someone around, and even if he still felt rather uncomfortable about his dreams, they had almost completely faded and he wasn't the type to dwell in bad memories for long. The bounty hunter cleared his throat, giving his companion a careful glance.

"We'll reach Leaf Creek in a couple of days", he informed Sasuke, catching the frown that crossed the other's features. However, it disappeared so quickly that Naruto wasn't sure if it had ever been there.

"Although, if you don't mind... Could we take a longer route? It's not by much, only half a day, but that way we wouldn't have to pass that old ranch close to the town... They say it's haunted, people keep seeing odd lights and figures moving there, but it has been abandoned for at least ten years already..." Naruto's eyes narrowed as he watched Sasuke. Now the raven had definitely tensed, his back suddenly a lot straighter and the look on his face more forced to appear calm.

Deciding to push the matter still a bit further, Naruto relaxed and kept his eyes on Sasuke as he continued.

"You see, horrible things happened there when I was still a kid. I grew up in Leaf Creek, you know?" As an orphan, but Sasuke didn't have to know that much.

"I was around seven that time, I think, or maybe six? It was a home to one rich family, that ranch, they had cattle and horses and wealth, but they weren't really nice people."

Sasuke was clearly even more uncomfortable, his attempts to hide it were all in vain.

"No-one knew to expect it, though. One morning someone went to the ranch, I can't remember why, and he found them all dead. The family that had lived there, all their workers and even the horses were slaughtered in one night, and they had no clue who had done that. But there was something odd to it, you see..." Naruto kept a little break, watching Sasuke intensely. The raven was stiff as a gun barrel, looking like he might break his teeth from pressing them together so hard.

The bounty hunter took a sip from his water bottle that had been filled from the river this morning, and then continued the story.

"They never found the bodies of the two sons of the family. Some who had known the family better said that also the older son's horse was missing, but they couldn't be sure of that either. However, they say that the younger son now haunts the ranch, seeking for revenge for his slaughtered family and ruined life. It is said that whoever goes to the ranch will meet the same end as the poor family. The ghost of the son is waiting for the real murderer to come back someday, and only then he can rest in peace." Naruto licked his lips as he finished, feeling uneasy. Even if he'd started to tell that story to perhaps scare Sasuke a little bit, he had ended up making himself nervous.

Naruto was a fearless man when it came to things he could fight, but ghosts were something that always got under his skin.

The raven kept quiet, staring at Rayo's neck. He still looked tense, so tense, and Naruto felt a pinch of guilt for destroying Sasuke's good mood so completely. The look on the other's face was odd, there was something really alerting in it but Naruto couldn't quite grasp it.

Finally Sasuke shrugged stiffly and scoffed, not giving Naruto a single glance.

"I've heard that story before, idiot."

Naruto blinked.

"Y-you have?"

"Yeah. I've been to Leaf Creek a couple of times with Rattlesnake. It's not like he never traveled."

Now even more surprised, Naruto turned to fully stare at Sasuke, finding it hard to believe what the raven had just told him.  
"Seriously? And you just didn't feel like mentioning that earlier when I talked about Leaf Creek?"

Sasuke shrugged again, running his fingers through Rayo's dark mane.  
"No, not really. What does it matter anyway? Are you disappointed for not being able to scare me with that ghost story of yours?" He gave Naruto a blank look, still too tense to appear comfortable with the subject.

Naruto puffed his cheeks and tried not to roll his eyes.  
"No, I just-"

"I think you scared yourself with it."

The amused smirk on Sasuke's face made Naruto sputter incomprehensibly, his face reddening as he shook his fist at the raven, not daring to do much more. Rayo was the type to use any excuse to shake Sasuke off her back and run through the fields to freedom.  
"Bastard! I'm not scared! I... I know it's just a ghost story!" He wasn't that easy to read, now was he?

Sasuke's smirk widened a little and he shook his head, murmuring something in Spanish as Rayo took a couple of irritated sidesteps.  
"Of course. Just a story."

The raven didn't say anything more, but as Naruto watched he started to slowly relax again, the tension wearing out. It made the blonde think there had maybe been something Sasuke had expected him to say or ask, but since he hadn't the runaway dancer didn't feel threatened anymore.

That night they made a camp a little before the darkness fell and Naruto made sure to sleep as far away from Sasuke as he could, hoping that it would keep the dreams away. The flames of their little fire slowly died, leaving them in complete darkness.

Naruto rolled over to his side, his eyes wide open. He was again staring at Sasuke's direction, seeing nothing but knowing that the raven was there. He pictured the other man in his head, the dark hair a little bit tousled already and eyes shut, the black lashes making a stark contrast to the pale skin of his face. Although if he was completely honest, Naruto had to say Sasuke had started to tan a little bit. It wasn't much and the color was more reddish than brown, but he wasn't as sickly pale as he'd been when they had ran away from Snake's Lair.

Grinning into the darkness Naruto shook his head, his grin turning into a grimace as his cheek rubbed against the saddlebag. It was good to see Sasuke getting healthier, now he was just waiting to see the raven gaining some weight and muscle. It amazed him that Sasuke ate so little, even when the man said it was a lot to him, and somehow Naruto wished he hadn't heard that last comment. The Snake had probably fed Sasuke like a dog or something, so small was the amount of food he needed.

Huffing at nothing in particular, Naruto closed his eyes, attempting to finally fall asleep. He had been awake for a while already, and he really didn't need another sleepless night. Sasuke had noticed his bad mood as well, telling him that he was acting worse than Rayo at some point of the day, and after that Naruto had very maturely refused to speak to the raven for a while. He hadn't been pouting for long, though, he had never been the one to hold the grudge, and so he had just tried to hide his mood from the raven.

An odd sound from Sasuke's direction caught the bounty hunter's ears and he stilled, listening as closely as he could. At first there was nothing, only a cry of some animal from distance and buzzing noise the bugs made in the darkness. It took so long that Naruto relaxed again, thinking that he'd probably been just hearing things, but then another low sound emerged and he could hardly keep himself from running over to Sasuke's side.

He couldn't really describe the odd noise the raven had just let out. It was something between a growl and a whine, and it sounded extremely pained. Sasuke was obviously dreaming, but about what, Naruto could only guess. He knew that answer would probably be Rattlesnake, and if that was the case he really didn't want to know any details. It was enough to have the sight of the man practically eating Sasuke's neck burnt in his memory.

Yet another choked noise made Naruto's fingers curl, frustration growing. He didn't know what he was supposed to do. Just lying here made him feel rather voyeuristic, like he was witnessing something he really shouldn't see, but it pained him to leave Sasuke alone with his dreams. Nightmares were never pleasant.

Naruto had yet to come to decision when a weak gasp and a groan from Sasuke's direction told him that the raven had woken up on his own. The blonde almost sighed in relief, but he never had time to do so as he realized he shouldn't give himself out to Sasuke. It was better if the raven thought Naruto didn't have the slightest glue of the nightmares, and so the blonde forced his breathing back to slow and even, trying to appear asleep if Sasuke took time to listen.

He didn't, but it didn't sound like he was going back to sleep either. His blanket rustled softly and in mild horror Naruto realized Sasuke was getting up.

Biting his lip to keep from speaking, he shifted slowly, the sound of the movement stopping Sasuke for a second. Then, when Naruto didn't move anymore, the raven stood up in the darkness, the moon providing enough light that he could see the blonde's figure on the ground.

Naruto held his breath, his eyes narrowed to slits as he watched Sasuke walk closer with silent steps, the raven soon looming over him. He had to close his eyes completely to keep up the act, but his hearing seemed to have sharpened remarkably. The bounty hunter heard painfully well the other kneeling down next to him, and after a moment a slim hand lightly brushed over his hair, moving down to his neck.

Biting the inside of his cheek was the only thing to keep Naruto from gasping from surprise. The pale fingers stroked the skin on his neck so gently they could've as well been feathers, and the bounty hunter felt his chest tighten oddly as he kept his eyes shut, anticipating Sasuke's next moves. The fingers slid over his neck and finally pressed down a little harder as if their owner was looking for something.

Naruto froze still as he realized that fingers were pressing against his wind pipe, not hard enough to cut his breathing but definitely enough to make his survival instinct kick in. A man like him didn't live long if he wasn't careful and aware of his surroundings, even while sleeping. His heart picked up speed, a hint of fear pinching his insides. Not that there was any real threat; Naruto would've been able to grab Sasuke's hand and wrench it away anytime, and now he would have the element of surprise on his side. However, he didn't want to go and test that theory.

Not giving himself much time to think about it, he let out a soft groan and rolled over to his back. The blonde let his eyes flutter half open, their gaze remaining unfocused as he stared at Sasuke's direction. The hand was immediately gone from his neck and Naruto sighed in relief, hoping that Sasuke would think of it only as a sound of him waking up. Other than that the raven wasn't moving, and Naruto wasn't sure if he should be happy or worried about that. Right now he was a bit of both.

"Mmh? Sa... suke?" he croaked, doing his best to make his voice hoarse like it often was when he had just woken up.

The reply he got was soft, almost inaudible.  
"Yeah?"

Naruto felt a slight frown crossing his face, but he didn't comment the way Sasuke didn't sound the slightest bit sleepy. It was almost like he hadn't slept a second that night.

The silence stretched out, a cry of some night animal breaking it after a moment. They listened carefully to the sounds of the night, Rayo's huffing making Naruto grin lazily. That mare sure had some temper. Quietly he cleared his throat and rubbed his eyes, and Sasuke shifted as the blonde slowly sat up, staring at the other man under the bright moonlight.

"Couldn't sleep, huh?" Naruto asked goodnaturedly, watching Sasuke's face. The pale skin was almost glowing under the light, and even if Naruto couldn't make anything out of the dark eyes under his bangs, he could feel them studying him.

After a moment of what almost felt like hesitation, Sasuke gave a curt nod and then shrugged. His eyes never left Naruto's face as he made a move to get up, something in his posture screaming of discomfort.

Immediately Naruto's hand shot out and grabbed his arm, holding the raven still. As soon as his fingers had wrapped around the pale arm he felt stupid, not knowing why he had done so. The blonde sure hadn't meant to hold Sasuke here, but for some reason, seeing the raven attempting to get away from him had made him react instinctively.  
"Don't", he chocked out, the hold he had of Sasuke's arm tightening.

The midnight black eyes turned to look down at the fingers before returning to Naruto's face, meeting the other ones that were now dark blue and gleaming oddly. It was likely caused by the moonlight, but it made Sasuke feel a bit uncomfortable.  
"Don't what?" he asked, his voice blank.

Naruto blinked slowly, trying to come up with at least a decent answer. He didn't want to sound like a complete idiot in Sasuke's ears, knowing that the raven still didn't think too much of him. But thinking too hard never got him anywhere, so he had to settle with voicing the truth.  
"Don't go."

The raven shifted, his hair catching and reflecting the moonlight in a way that made Naruto crave to touch it.

"It's foolish of you to think I'd stay either", Sasuke answered slowly, gently prying Naruto's fingers off his arm. He didn't move, however, as he watched the other man and then turned to look away at their horses' direction.

Naruto swallowed, trying to ignore the way his throat had tightened. For some reason he had the feeling that Sasuke didn't meant this night only when he talked about staying or leaving, and knowing that made the blonde a little anxious.

"I know", he finally murmured, shaking his head as he placed his hands in his lap.

His words brought Sasuke's eyes back to him, and for a moment the raven remained silent, just watching Naruto with an unreadable look in his eyes. Then he slowly stood up and brushed dirt off his clothes before giving Naruto one last look.  
"I have something I need to do when we get to Leaf Creek, so we'd better hurry up tomorrow", the young man muttered, making it clear that he had no interest to continue their previous conversation. Then he turned around and walked over to his blanket, lying down to sleep again.

Naruto watched him go, feeling oddly restless as he thought Sasuke's words over. He had known that the raven wasn't going to stay with him for forever, and he could only assume that as soon as they were done with whoever Sasuke wanted to kill, he would be on his own again. What the other would do Naruto couldn't even guess, but the raven had probably everything planned already, so he didn't feel too worried. Just... lonely.

Not wanting to think about it any longer, Naruto dropped his head back to the not-pillow and glared tamely at Sasuke's direction.  
"Don't you order me around, bastard", was the last thing he murmured before sleep took him.

The next morning Naruto was feeling slightly uncomfortable as they packed up and continued their journey to the town. It didn't bother him as much is probably should, because being uncomfortable was nothing new when he was around Sasuke, so the blonde just ignored the feeling and relaxed in the saddle, imperceptibly keeping an eye on the other man.

Sasuke didn't look much different to the previous day, but there were dark shadows under his eyes, telling a clear story of the amount of sleep the raven had gotten last night. He didn't look tense though, and Naruto felt a smile pulling his lips as he realized Sasuke was starting to feel at ease with him around. Nothing that had happened last night didn't seem to concern the raven, and briefly Naruto wondered if he was just overreacting to their odd conversation but he couldn't shake off the feeling that there had been a lot behind Sasuke's words back then.

It had been almost a warning.

Naruto shook his head slightly, Sasuke's eyes immediately catching the movement and turning to give him a glance with arched brows.

"What is it?" the dark-haired man asked with unreadable voice. There was no real interest behind the question, he was trying to be polite, a good companion for the rest of the ride.

Naruto mulled over the question for a moment and then decided it didn't need an answer. Sasuke wasn't interested for real, and he didn't really have an answer anyway. The blonde took a better hold of Whirl's reins and adjusted his position in the saddle before deciding to change the subject completely.  
"So...", he drawled slowly, turning to give Sasuke a good look, his eyes searching for the dark ones.  
"Who exactly are you hunting?"

Sasuke's reaction honestly surprised the bounty hunter. The man tensed to the point where Rayo started taking nervous sidesteps, tossing her head as if to trying to tell her rider to calm down. The obsidian eyes turned away from Naruto, a hard look in them, and the blonde watched as a cold mask set to Sasuke's face, leaving all his emotions and thoughts hidden from the other man. As Naruto glanced down, he noticed that Sasuke's hands were clutching the reins hard enough to make his knuckles white, and suddenly he realized that there had to be something deeply personal behind this.

The raven didn't look like he was going to answer, and as the silence stretched Naruto came to the conclusion that he would be given no answer. He waited yet another moment and then decided to give up, a slightly irritated scowl crossing his face.  
"Fine, you can k-"

"I suppose you have heard of Black Weasel?"

The suddenness of the answer broke Naruto's concentration and it took him a moment to process what Sasuke had said. For some reason, the raven tended to cut him off quite often, almost as if he was enjoying the way he could make Naruto silent. He rarely answered Naruto's question when the blonde was silent, but as soon as Naruto opened his mouth to speak the raven started as well, making him shut up like a good boy. Perhaps it made the raven feel like he was in control of the situation somehow, but it was starting to piss Naruto off.

And then the blonde realized what Sasuke had actually said and his mouth fell open, eyes wide as he gaped at Sasuke.

"Black Weasel?" he choked out, unable to believe what he had just heard. Naruto had known that Sasuke was slightly off his rocker, but this was completely unheard of.  
"You can't be serious! You're going get yourself killed! That's just-"

"Shut up", Sasuke snapped and kept his eyes away from Naruto.

But for once, Naruto refused to obey.  
"I won't!" he snarled, guiding Whirl closer to Rayo.  
"I'm serious, Sasuke! You might be a good shooter and everything, but Black Weasel is... Even higher reward than Rattlesnake! He will kill you before you get close enough to even aim at him."

Sasuke tensed even further, giving Naruto a cold glare, but he didn't say anything else.

That only infuriated Naruto even more. He could almost smell the silent confidence oozing from the raven, and he couldn't believe the man was capable of being that arrogant. Sure, Sasuke had killed Rattlesnake, but Naruto had always thought that it had been just a lucky shot and not because the raven was somehow skilled. The Snake had just kept Sasuke so close that it had been easy to strike, but the same surely wouldn't apply to Black Weasel. That man was something entirely different.

Naruto's fists clenched as he stared at Sasuke, trying to desperately understand what was going on in the other's head. No matter what kind of grudge the man held, going after Black Weasel would be a suicide for someone like him. Good shooter or not, Sasuke would be no match for that man, and seeing that the raven simply refused to accept that fact made Naruto want to punch him in the face.

His shoulders tense, Naruto rode Whirl right next to Rayo, ignoring the way the mare immediately huffed and puffed and started taking shorter steps, threatening to kick the other horse.

"Sasuke, be reasonable", the blonde spat through his gritted teeth, doing his best to keep his cool.  
"He'll kill you, you know he will. That man is a cold-blooded murderer, he won't even let you see him before he shoots you. You just ran away from Rattlesnake! You're a free man now, don't you get it? Why do you want to run to your death like that?" Naruto hadn't realized how loud his voice had gotten before he yelled the last word. He clamped his mouth shut after that, giving Sasuke a glare that would've made a lesser man shiver and reach for his gun.

To Sasuke, however, it seemed to mean nothing. He just shifted in the saddle a little as Rayo started dancing away from Whirl and put back her ears in warning, but his eyes slowly turned to Naruto.

Seeing the cold, empty look in them, the bounty hunter could barely keep from flinching. He had opened his mouth to yell some more, but that look made him close it again, leaving him suddenly feeling uncomfortable. Naruto had the feeling that he had said something he shouldn't, but he couldn't guess what it had been; not before Sasuke spoke again.

"He will." The smooth voice was full of the same annoying confidence that marked his appearance most of the time, and the single-minded determination peeked through in a way that made Naruto blink.

Had he been ready to let go of his anger, it might've ended at that, but being as hard-headed as he was, Naruto refused to give up. Having Whirl walk closer to Rayo again, the blonde frowned and refused to look away as Sasuke held his gaze firmly.  
"Will what?" he growled, his hands still itching to wrap around that irritatingly pale and slender throat to throttle the other man.

Sasuke just stared at him for a moment before a hint of the familiar smirk pulled at his lips and he shook his head slowly, as if silently laughing at Naruto's stupidity.  
"Let me see him", he explained as if it should've been obvious.

Naruto couldn't believe his ears. He had known that Sasuke was a bit too sure of his abilities, but this was going beyond measure.  
"Are you an idiot?" he growled, not even noticing the way Rayo jumped to the side at the sound.  
"You won't be going there. I won't let him kill you, Sasuke, and if you go after him, he will. I really don't know why you even want to do it, but now that you're free, you're going to live your life and-"

"Don't you understand?" Sasuke hissed suddenly, his eyes growing even colder. Despite Rayo's attempts to get away, he forced the horse as close to Whirl as she could go, glaring daggers at Naruto.  
"It is why I ran away. I don't want anything else, I don't need the 'freedom' you seem so fond of. I only need to find him and kill him, even if I am to die with him. That's the only reason I ran away from Orochimaru."

Naruto froze, staring at Sasuke with incredulous eyes. Suddenly it all made sense, everything just clicked in his head. The way Sasuke seemed somehow disconnected to the everyday things they did, the man's lack of need to be social, his way of brushing Naruto off and seeming to care only about getting to Leaf Creek. Earlier he had thought it was because Sasuke wanted to sleep in a real bed and eat at least decent food again, but now he realized it was probably because he wanted to look for a trail to get to Weasel.

"I won't let you." The words slipped past Naruto's lips before he had time to think them over, surprising both of them, but for different reasons.

Much to Naruto's shock, Sasuke barked a dry laugh and then shook his head, the long fingers already curling around his gun.  
"You can't stop me, Naruto", the raven informed the other man shortly, giving Naruto another look with those dark, dead eyes of his.  
"I won't give you chance to do that." His hand tightened its hold of the gun.

The blue eyes widened and Naruto brought his hand to his own revolver, ready to draw if the situation called for it. There was something very hostile in Sasuke's voice and in the way he appeared so prepared to draw the gun. Naruto didn't think he would actually do it, at least not right now, but seeing the other so serious made his anger deflate rapidly.

_"It's foolish of you to think I'd stay either."_

Sasuke's earlier words flashed through Naruto's mind and he shook his head sharply, not wanting to dwell in those again. He knew it already, in the name of God, that Sasuke wasn't going to stay with him for long, but he didn't need to be reminded of that _again_!  
"So you say", the blonde finally muttered, letting Whirl pull away from Rayo. The mare kept stepping nervously for a moment but then relaxed, glaring at Whirl's direction every now and then.

To Naruto, the rest of the day passed in uneasy silence. He never bothered staying angry for long, but Sasuke behavior was irking him even when they got ready to go to sleep. They hadn't spoken much during the rest of the day, in fact they both had kept the interaction to minimum, and even as Naruto cooked them a simple dinner neither of the men said a thing.

It was as if they were trying to keep from fighting, knowing that if one of them said something, it would eventually lead them back to talking about Sasuke's goals. With silent determination in his eyes, Naruto watched as the raven pulled the blanket over himself and rolled over to his side, facing away from Naruto and the fire.

A quiet sigh escaped the blonde's lips and he shook his head, turning his gaze back to the fire. He had already decided that there was no way he'd let Sasuke go and do what he wanted, killing Black Weasel wasn't something the raven was capable of, even with help from him. It just wasn't going to happen, because Naruto refused to save anyone just to see them running head-first to their death.

With that in mind, the tanned man wrapped his blanket around himself and closed his eyes, hoping that the night would help him clear his head.

Naruto clasped a hand over his mouth to stifle a yawn and glanced at the sun, trying to calculate the time they had before it would set again and let the darkness fall. They had already passed a sign that told them they were on the right track, and it would be only half an hour or so until they reached the town. Then there would be the search for a hotel room and then, as Naruto had planned, a visit to a bath house. He knew that Sasuke was already suffering from the lack of washing, and even if Naruto found it mostly ridiculous that the other man insisted on washing at least his face and neck every day (wasting their water supplies greatly), he knew better than to try to take away his daily wash. The fit Sasuke had thrown the last time had been enough.

Another yawn tried to make it's way past his lips and Naruto let it out, giving Sasuke a brief look. The man was tense again, and the blonde supposed it was because of his thighs; those blisters had to hurt for real, even when bandaged.

Clearing his throat, Naruto brought his hand to the scarf tied around his neck and tugged at it, preparing to pull it over his cheeks again. Coming from Leaf Creek or not, he preferred keeping his identity hidden even there; it wasn't like there weren't any outlaws passing by, especially in the shadier parts of the town.

"We'll be in Leaf Creek before nightfall", the bounty hunter muttered, not caring if Sasuke heard him or not. The pale man had been ignoring him the whole day, much thanks to the fight yesterday, but Naruto had noticed the way the man was staring at the old ranch in the distance. They were far from it still, far enough that Naruto's stories about the ghost weren't scaring the blonde, but for some reason Sasuke kept staring at the buildings, lost in thought.

He didn't acknowledge Naruto's words now either, and after a moment of looking the blonde turned away from Sasuke, yanking the scarf back to its place. When it securely covered his nose and the whisker-like scars he huffed and frowned, thoughtfully patting Whirl. It was always good to come back to Leaf Creek, he still considered the town as his home, but it was always unnerving as well with too much people recognizing him. Sasuke probably didn't have that problem and for a moment Naruto almost envied him for being free to go where he wanted, without having to be afraid of someone shooting him at his back. Then he realized that Sasuke had actually been free for just a couple of days and that he wasn't going to use his freedom at all, and his brows knit together in annoyance. That idiot.

Leaf Creek wasn't as spotless and polished as Soundsville had been. The buildings were a lot older, some of them had had lots of repairing done during the years and there were signs of recent shootings, but that was nothing strange in a town that big. The sun was looming just above the horizon, giving the buildings a strange yet fascinating golden color, hiding the largest scratches and holes on the walls, and Sasuke found himself taking in the scenery, everything looking just so different and fascinating. He hadn't been out of Soundsville in years, and Leaf Creek was a lot larger than he remembered. Everything was just so new and had he been alone, the raven would've likely gaped a little, but now he couldn't. Not with Naruto.

The said bounty hunter didn't pay much attention to Sasuke as he guided them through the town. A strange but welcome feeling of familiarity had bloomed in Naruto's chest when they passed the first buildings and entered the city, and he cherished it as long as it lasted. The town didn't look much different to the last time he'd been here, even the people looked the same, and a relieved smile crossed Naruto's face as they rode past a bank. He had some money saved there and it would be the first place he visited the next morning. Now he just wanted to get to a certain hotel.

He lead Sasuke through the town, keeping his head low to stay away from focus. There was a lot of strangers passing through Leaf Creek every day so a couple of travelers didn't attract much attention from the townsfolk save for some kids that stared at them from behind a corner of an old-looking store building. Naruto waved at them and they let out matching squeals before scurrying away and the blonde chuckled, watching them go. Other than that, they were hardly given even occasional glances until they were at the hotel he had been looking for.

Naruto jumped off the saddle with ease and patted Whirl affectionately, trying not to stare as Sasuke dismounted in a way that could only be described as painful. The raven was obviously tense and his muscles had to be sore, and Naruto sincerely hoped that the planned visit to a bath house would help him with those problems. He wasn't sure how the blisters would react to hot water though, but they couldn't really get worse so it didn't matter. Giving Sasuke one more look the blonde pursed his lips and then headed to the stable behind the hotel. It was a small but comfy one, and from past experience Naruto knew that the place kept a night guard to look after the horses.

Sasuke eyed the hotel as he passed it, stopping for a moment to look through the window to a brightly lit saloon. He could hear loud singing from building, the clink of glasses and bottles accompanied with someone playing a piano quite decently. Briefly the raven wondered if this saloon had dancer girls performing tonight but immediately dismissed the question as a ridiculous one. Of course it had, and it shouldn't matter to him. He just hadn't visited any saloon except Snake's Lair in years, and he could already tell it would be weird to sit there as a customer and just enjoy himself when he was used to sitting with Orochimaru at one of his tables and playing his part as the Snake's bondwoman.

Rayo poked him in the shoulder, and glancing down Sasuke noticed his knuckles were white from clutching the reins. Sighing irritably he loosened his hold just a bit and almost reached out to pet the horse before remembering that his hand would likely meet some sharp teeth. Giving the mare a glare instead, Sasuke rolled his shoulders and neck, satisfied to hear some cracking and popping from the stiff joints.

The stable doors opened in front of him and Naruto disappeared inside with Whirl, leaving Sasuke behind for a moment. The raven used the opportunity and stopped, glancing around. It was obvious that Naruto came here often, he was so at ease with his surroundings that it made the raven slightly jealous. Despite living with Orochimaru for so long, he had never felt like he belonged to Soundsville, not like Naruto belonged here. He hadn't felt so comfortable even when he'd still lived with his family at their ranch, and slowly watching Naruto was making him realize how much he had actually lost during the long years under Rattlesnake's command.

Had he run away earlier, he might've had a completely different life, one away from Orochimaru and his demands and the dancing and everything he was used to. Sasuke wasn't sure if this type of life he was living at the moment would've suited him, traveling was weird after staying still for so long, but he knew he would've had to run away from Orochimaru's men for a couple of years anyway. Perhaps he could've escaped to Mexico and perfect his Spanish, but now it was too late. He was old enough to do what he had sworn to do years ago.

"Sasuke? You coming?"

The shouted question shook Sasuke from his thoughts and he quickly made his way into the stable, his sore muscles protesting loudly. A hot bath crossed his mind briefly, but the raven immediately dismissed the idea as an impossible one. It wasn't like they'd have a bath waiting here.

Half an hour passed before they finally entered the saloon and Naruto rushed off to get them a room. The man behind the counter looked happy and surprised to see him, and they appeared to be chatting animatedly for a moment before Naruto got their keys and returned to Sasuke, giving him a dazzling smile that made something flip unpleasantly in the raven's stomach. Sasuke blamed the feeling on hunger, knowing full well that it wasn't lack of food that had caused the odd feeling, and then followed Naruto into their room.

Two beds, a dresser, a table and a couple of chairs, a carpet on the floor and a large window made it appear a lot like the last real room they had slept in. But despite the similarity of the furnishing, this room had something a lot more comfortable to it, almost a homely atmosphere. Sasuke watched with the slightest smirk on his face as Naruto stomped over to one of the beds and flopped onto it, legs and arms sprawled as he lay on the bed, eyes shut, muttering something about 'good ole Leaf Creek'.

Figuring that they wouldn't be going anywhere, Sasuke took a step closer to the other bed, only to stop as Naruto cracked open an eye.

"Don't you get lazy yet, m'lady. We're going out now, I'll take you somewhere nice", the blonde drawled with low voice, peering at Sasuke curiously to see his reaction.

Warning bells immediately dinged in the raven's head as he heard Naruto's words and instinctively he took a step back, glaring at the other man. He wasn't so sure what he and Naruto considered as a nice place to go to would be anything alike, because he sure as God wasn't going to spend his night at a brothel, no matter what Naruto wanted. Not that he really believed in God though, he had always found the old Indian beliefs more easily approachable, but that was beside the point.

"Where are we going?" Sasuke asked in warning, his brows knit tightly together. The sly look on Naruto's face was making him suddenly feel very self-conscious and he felt like throwing his boot at Naruto to make him spill his guts.

Naruto's smile widened even more, making his eyes squint, and he shook his head. He had planned to keep this a secret until they were at the bath house, but since Sasuke looked like he might actually stab him with something unless Naruto told him, the bounty hunter gave in.  
"Bath house", he replied shortly with very self-satisfied voice.

The look of utter shock, delight and relief that crossed Sasuke's face made it impossible for Naruto to hold back a laugh, and after a long second a howl of pain echoed in the room as a heavy boot hit him in the head.

Naruto could feel anticipation boiling in the pit of his stomach as he pushed open the bath house's door and stepped inside, closely followed by Sasuke. He had been a regular of this place for a while already, some years to be precise, and by now he had started to get little discounts every now and then. The reason why he favored this specific bath house was simple; he could get a bath, a girl and a meal at once, and the price was fairly decent even for a traveler like him.

Grinning reassuringly, Naruto glanced over his shoulder at his companion, hoping that Sasuke would enjoy everything the house had to offer. The price would be the same even if one component was left out, but the bounty hunter couldn't imagine anyone saying no to a good meal or a pretty girl to spend the night with, even Sasuke couldn't be that stuck-up.

"Ho, but isn't that Naruto?" A flat male voice emerged from behind the counter, and a bunch of gray hair appeared to the view.  
"I thought you'd be away still at least a month or two." The man didn't sound the slightest bit interested, and even as he spoke, his eyes darted to a book he held in his hand.

Sasuke eyed the man suspiciously, the whole place starting to suddenly feel rather shady. He hadn't noticed the man at all before he had spoken, and now that he was visible the raven wasn't sure what to think. The gray hair was one odd thing, but what drew his attention the most was the black eyepatch the man was wearing, and the end of a long vertical scar peeking under it. Scars and injuries weren't that unusual, but something in this man felt off. Sitting there behind the counter he looked rather harmless, especially while reading that book, but something in his posture suggested that he was nothing but harmless. The eyepatch spoke of the same thing, a rough past and experience in some sort of fighting, and Sasuke instinctively tensed, a frown crossing his face. As he stepped forward, the man's only visible eye turned to look at him, a hint of interest flickering in the otherwise lazy stare.

"I see you've brought someone along." The voice was still disinterested to the point of sounding bored, but Sasuke couldn't bring himself to relax. There was something unnerving in the way the man kept staring at him, it felt almost like he was about to be sold to slavery and this man was the one contemplating buying him. The raven also couldn't shake of the haunting feeling of familiarity, it was as if he he should've recognized the man from somewhere. Perhaps he was a former outlaw that had visited Snake's Lair at some point, perhaps even a former partner of Rattlesnake at some point of his life? It wasn't usual for some lesser criminals to settle down to have a real job after years of crimes if they weren't hunted by bounty hunters.

A touch of a warm hand brushing against his own made Sasuke almost jump, and he threw a glare at Naruto, embarrassed at being surprised so easily.

"Don't worry about him", Naruto murmured quickly, low enough for only Sasuke to hear, and then he had bounced to the counter to talk to the man.

Sasuke watched their interaction with mild interest, finding it funny how Naruto was so excited and practically flailing his arms as he spoke, while the gray-haired man remained bored, giving short replies and looking like he could pass out at any second. And all the time the man kept giving Sasuke quick but sharp glances, keeping the raven on edge. After what felt like an eternity to Sasuke, Naruto finally dug a few coins from his pockets and handed them to the man who waved them on.

"You know the place. Show him around", the man stated before slouching back in his chair and burying his nose to the book.

Naruto snickered but said nothing, waving Sasuke to follow him. The raven did, with one more wary look directed at the man behind the counter, but this time it wasn't returned. Although as he followed Naruto though the door on left, he had the unpleasant feeling of someone watching him with a bit too much interest. Those looks had been an everyday thing in the Lair, but now he looked nothing like back then and the man should've had no reason to stare at him.

"...is just brilliant of him, to keep this place up, I bet he has so much customers he can't even keep up with all of them, but then again, this _is_ the best place in town and..."

Sasuke tuned the other man out, closing the door behind him. They had entered a small room with a few stools in the corner and a pile of sacks on the floor. The raven had no idea what they were going to do with those or when they would actually get to the bath, but he wasn't going to ask. That was, until he turned his eyes back to Naruto, to find the man already half naked.

Unable to hold back a tiny gasp, Sasuke turned to look away, feeling suddenly utterly uncomfortable. It wasn't that he hadn't seen a naked man before, nothing like that, but something made him feel oddly bashful in Naruto's presence. Still, knowing that it was expected, he started to slowly peel off his vest and then the shirt, giving in to the urge to glance at Naruto every now and then.

The blonde was soon out of his clothes save for the union suit he wore under everything else, and the orange color made Sasuke grimace. It suited that idiot, though, and he couldn't bring himself to say anything about it, it would be the same as admitting that he'd been staring. He himself didn't have anything like the union suit, only the shirt and vest that were now folded on one of the stools, and the pants and boots that he had yet to remove. For some reason he didn't feel good about getting out of them at all, he knew that even if the blisters looked better already they still hadn't healed, and he already dreaded the possibility of having to turn down someone offering to wash his back. Sasuke would've preferred to bath alone, but it wasn't likely to happen.

"Hey, are you sleeping upright? Hurry up and get out of those so we can go!" Naruto sounded slightly surprised, and immediately after turning to look at him the raven knew he'd made a mistake.

The bounty hunter was like nothing he'd ever seen before. The man was tan from his head to waist, and there his skin color lightened a little, as if he'd been riding without a shirt a lot. His muscular frame made Sasuke's own body look like young boy's in comparison, and he was afraid to let his gaze trail any lower than the male's chest. There were some blond curls on the tan skin but not as much as the raven would've guessed, and as he slowly tuned to look up at Naruto's eyes he couldn't help blushing lightly at the knowing grin on the blonde's face.

"Impressive, huh?" Naruto asked, still grinning wolfishly at the other man. He patted his chest affectionately and flexed his muscles, holding Sasuke's gaze all the time. He had the right to be proud of his body, after all, but then something went wrong. He wasn't quite sure what was happening, but the longer the raven stared at him the worse the weird tingling feeling inside him got, slowly dripping to his stomach from his chest and then even lower. That was when the blonde finally started to feel a bit uncomfortable, his body reacting in a very wrong way to Sasuke's staring. He had meant to only show off his muscles, but right now he almost hoped there was something else... something else to show. Naruto wasn't sure what he meant by that, but something was definitely wrong with him and he didn't like it, at all.

By the time something unexpectedly twitched between his legs, the grin had frozen to his face, looking nothing more but a forced smile painted to his face by an amateur artist, and Naruto gulped, fighting the urge to squirm.  
"I... uh..." He took a step back, towards the door that would lead him to the bathing room.  
"I'm... going ahead. Take your time." He practically stuttered in his haste, grabbing his clothes and throwing them to one of the sacks on the stool, then taking the sack with him as he practically ran out of the room.

Sasuke was left staring with a confused frown crossing his face. He wasn't sure what exactly had just happened, but he couldn't shake off a feeling that something had went wrong. He had just stood there, staring back at Naruto, and slowly the smile had started to die on the other's face, making the man look like a twisted statue. Then Naruto's face had become red and he'd stepped back, starting to stutter something about going and then he was gone.

The raven-haired young man blinked and shook his head, starting to slowly take off his pants. He should've probably felt better now that he was alone in the room, but that little incident with Naruto just now had made him feel like skipping the bath entirely. But the need to clean up won, of course, and soon enough he was out of his pants and boots and all his clothes were neatly packed into a sack. Sasuke wasn't sure why that had to be done, but following Naruto's example he walked out of the room, carrying the sack and his boots with him.

The door led to a room full of bath tubs. Full, in this context, meant maybe 15 of those, all placed neatly in line next to the back wall of the room. There wasn't much else here, but there was warm mist in the air and some clothes sacks near the door Sasuke had just used. Out of all the bath tubs maybe half were currently being used, and the raven gave a quick glance to the men sitting in them. They all looked pretty much the same, weather-beaten and down-to-earth type of men from all age groups, and then of course Naruto. The tub next to the blonde was filled with steaming hot water, and as soon as Naruto spotted Sasuke, he pointed at the tub, carefully keeping his eyes away from the raven's frame.

Sasuke tried to ignore the slightly disturbing feeling caused by Naruto refusing to look at him, and then left his clothes sack near the others. He didn't need to take ten steps to get to his tub, but that was enough to make him tense up again. He was naked, surrounded by other men he didn't know a thing about, and he didn't have a single weapon close to hand, save for the tiny knife he kept hidden in his hand as he walked over to the bath tub.

The water was hot, almost too hot for him, but with an angry hiss Sasuke slowly sank down, the water surrounding him like liquid silk. As he leaned down and relaxed, a deep groan of pleasure escaped his lips and he closed his eyes, cherishing the feeling of warmth. The lack of hygiene was what had mostly irked him when they were traveling; he was used to washing his hands and face at least once every day, even cold water could do, and he always took a bath once or twice every week. Orochimaru had been easily able to afford that much waste.

Naruto gulped, sinking to the warm water until only his eyes were visible. That groan had sent unwelcome tingling down his spine and straight towards his groin, and he couldn't deny that he might be getting the slightest bit aroused. He blamed it on the fact that his body knew what was coming after the bath, he had already mentioned Kakashi which girl he would prefer to spend his night with, and now it was just... preparing. He hadn't spent a night with anyone in a long while and it was obviously getting to him. Stupid Sasuke and his girly face and slim body and all that.

Sasuke preferred keeping quiet as he bathed, and therefore he was just relieved to hear Naruto talking with some other man in the bathtub next to his. He listened with one ear to the conversation, finding it mostly just boring. The stranger was telling Naruto something about a small fire that had occurred in Leaf Creek some weeks ago and then mentioned that there had been lots of strange people on the move lately, shady-looking men passing through the town and keeping everything to themselves. No people had been shot lately, but the sheriff had had one man hanged around a week ago.

The names he listed didn't tell anything to Sasuke and after a while he leaned his head backwards and sank deeper to the tub, enjoying the water when it was still warm. He could just feel his muscles relaxing and the dirt being washed off as he slowly rubbed his skin with his hands. The raven even dunked his head to the water, washing the dust away from his hair. The knife had been dropped to the bottom of the tub since it appeared that weapons weren't allowed in the room and Sasuke refused to obey that command entirely. As long as the knife was kept hidden it would hurt no-one unless he accidentally cut his toe to it or something.

Naruto, on the other hand, was feeling anything but relaxed. He didn't dare to look at Sasuke, fearing the way his body might react to it, and hoping that the man next to him would keep talking for forever so he would never have to face Sasuke again. The blonde felt so weird, so... so _dirty_ for being like this, for the way his body got so warm and tingling every time he as much as thought about looking at Sasuke's direction. He hadn't even seen the guy naked, for the sake of gracious God, and still...

Suddenly it felt like a light bulb went off in his head, and Naruto could hardly keep himself from jumping up. That had to be it! He still hadn't seen Sasuke entirely naked, and since he had first been told that Sasuke was a woman, he still hadn't gotten entirely over that image. As soon as he got a good look at the other's manhood, that would be it; his own body would start acting like it was supposed to again.

Smiling triumphantly, Naruto waited until the older man finished his story about a fight that had broken in the nearby store last week, and then turned to look at Sasuke, only to freeze as his eyes caught a glimpse of the man.

The raven looked alluring, to say the least. He was flushed sweetly from the heat, his lips were slightly agape and eyes closed, yet a faint look of pleasure was still lingering on his face. Sasuke had leaned his head back and it made his neck arch beautifully, the wet hair hanging over the edge of the bath tub and plastering to the man's face. Naruto reasoned that it was the bath, making him look like that, but he couldn't help the jolt that ran through his body.

And just to make it worse, Sasuke seemed to sense his staring and cracked one eye open, giving Naruto a blank look. The bounty hunter felt his groin stirring a little more again, and encouraged by the feeling he jumped up, demanding someone to bring him a towel. In a short moment a young man ran to him and handed him an old-looking but clean towel and Naruto climbed off the tub, starting to dry himself off. He changed a few words with the towel boy and then nodded to Sasuke's direction before heading to the other side of the room.

The raven stared after him, wondering what had caused Naruto to leave so suddenly. There had been nothing to provoke such behavior, but for some reason the blonde had appeared a lot more tense and on edge lately, especially today. He was still loud and bold, but the way he refused to hold Sasuke's gaze for long was making the raven slightly worried. Had the blonde figured out too much about him, had it been too much to say he'd been here before? Something was definitely off, and he didn't like it.

His water was hardly lukewarm anymore when Sasuke finally got up, requesting a towel as well. He received one, and the same boy that had assisted Naruto before asked if he wanted his woman now or preferred a meal first. Looking absolutely disgusted, the raven refused to have any kind of nymph-du-prairie for the night and asked for the meal only. The towel boy gave him an odd look but nodded anyway and took Sasuke to a room where he could put his clothes back on.

An hour later he closed the bath house's door behind himself, feeling a lot better than he had before. He was clean, save for the dirty clothes he wore, and he had to admit a proper bed sounded inviting. That was, physically at least. Inside his head there was a small turmoil going on as he tried to reason with himself, trying to come up with reasons why he really didn't need to be pissed for Naruto abandoning him for a hooker. They were just traveling together, nothing more.

Yawning a little, Sasuke turned to walk towards their hotel, only to stop in his tracks after passing a couple of houses as he heard a low cough from a dark alley between the buildings.

He knew who it was without having to turn to look, but he turned anyway, his fingers curling around a knife that had slid to his hand from his sleeve and other hand slowly moving towards his gun, preparing to draw if the situation called for it.

"Now now, Sasuke, or should I say _Raven_, no need to get violent with me. I just want to talk."

Sasuke shook his head slowly and his eyes that had widened slightly at his previous name narrowed again as he seized the man up, taking slow steps backwards to the direction of their hotel.  
"I have nothing to talk about with you", he growled and grabbed his gun as the man pushed himself away from the wall.

Seeing the motion, the man stopped again and lifted his hands slowly, showing that he held no weapons.  
"I want to know what brings you here, why are you traveling with Foxface and..." The man seemed to hesitate slightly, but as he spoke his voice was almost mocking.  
"What happened to your master?"

"He wasn't my master!" Sasuke snapped immediately, his hands starting to shake as he backed away. He had a bad feeling about the situation and his skin prickled in warning.

The man shook his head and sighed.  
"I see, he truly is dead, then..." He glanced around, and that was when Sasuke's instincts to run kicked in.  
"Capture him."

Too bad they were too late.

TBC

A/N: Thank you for reading, and please review!


	6. Lonely are the brave

**Warnings:** Nothing much for this chapter  
**Disclaimer:** Characters are property of a certain Masashi Kishimoto, I'm just borrowing them.

**A/N:** Another long-ish break, I'm sorry _ And now I'll be focusing on the Christmas fics, I still have a couple to write... I'm not really satisfied with this chapter, but I suppose it's alright. Thank you for the reviews! I appreciate them all more than you can imagine!

* * *

For Didi

* * *

Naruto yawned and scratched his lower back as he stumbled out of the bath house, his head spinning slightly. It was really dark outside, the moon was hiding behind dark clouds and the only sources of light were lamps that shone from the windows of the buildings scattered along the road. Loud music and singing echoed around the bounty hunter as he slowly turned to drag himself towards the hotel, feeling blissfully relaxed and content with his life. His stomach was full, he was clean all over, and most importantly, his body hadn't felt this sated in months. It had been a new girl, with long dark hair that had looked almost black in the dim lighting and dark eyes to match it, and she had been very eager to please.

Yet when everything should've been perfect, Naruto knew that something was wrong. Maybe it had something to do with the way his thoughts had kept slipping back to Sasuke during the foreplay, or how there was this feeble yet stubborn noise nagging at him in his head. The raven had left at least two hours ago, that much the girl that had replaced Kakashi at the front desk had been able to tell him, and even when he wanted to be angry at Sasuke Naruto couldn't really blame him.

A low whistle made the blonde jump and he had to stop for a moment to figure out what it had been. Then, after a moment of no odd whistler, he realized that it had been himself doing that sound, and he let out a amused laugh. Sasuke would've definitely laughed at him too had he been here now.

Somehow that thought angered Naruto a little, and he picked up his pace, the urge to get to the hotel soon poking him. Not that he was in a hurry to get to bed, but he wanted to go and kick Sasuke's ass for leaving him alone like this when they could've had lots of fun together in the bath house. It was frustrating, being abandoned like that, and Naruto's hands clenched into fists as he stalked forward, his good mood suddenly gone. Stupid Sasuke, being so damn uptight...

He reached the hotel and flashed it a quick smile, ignoring the people standing outside and looking like they were starting to fight at any second, and stepped inside.

Something was off. The blue eyes squinted thoughtfully as Naruto took in his surroundings, scratching his cheek. The saloon-like room was large and very loud and brightly lit, but he was pretty sure the piano hadn't been there when he'd last seen it. And oh hell no, that guy behind the bar counter was someone he'd never seen before... Something was definitely wrong, and after a moment of thinking the blonde realized he had to be in a wrong saloon.

"Oops...", he muttered, turning around and immediately bumping into an older man coming inside.

"Hey, watch where you're going!" the man exclaimed loudly, shoving Naruto roughly.  
"Either get out or sit down, don't just stand there!"

Having almost lost his balance, Naruto stumbled clumsily as he tried to regain his footing, the evil glare that had been meant for the man finally burning holes to the wall.  
"I was just goin', no need to get... aggressive", he snarled irritatedly and headed to the door. By now he had figured that he was probably a bit too drunk for his own good, but the young man couldn't really care less. He was still an ace at drawing his gun, no matter how drunk he was, and...

Wait, no. Maybe it was better to carry his gun in his hand after all, just to be safe. The bad guys wouldn't wait for him to draw, that was for sure, and Naruto wasn't going to be taken by surprise.

Whistling again, the blonde headed into the night, throwing his revolver into the air and catching it again. A daring act, yes, but he was too drunk to care. Not that he liked being drunk, not at all. It was annoying and made his head feel fuzzy and he wouldn't have drunk so much if Sasuke hadn't just disappeared like that. He had been only slightly tipsy when he'd realized the raven had left, and then he'd drank some just because he'd been angry, and then some more because he had actually started to feel pretty good... And here he was now, whistling to himself and wandering slowly and uncertainly back to the hotel.

With lots of luck Naruto finally ended up in the building he was headed to, and even if it took him a moment he managed to open the door with the keys he fortunately hadn't forgotten at the bath house. Grinning madly the blonde stepped inside and shut the door with a loud bang. Now he wished that Sasuke had been asleep, it would serve the bastard right to wake up to such noise...

"Hellll~lo, m'lady", Naruto slurred loudly, stumbling closer to Sasuke's bed.

But almost immediately he stopped, a frown crossing his face. Now something was definitely wrong, even more than had been when he'd accidentally went to that other saloon, and something cold appeared in his stomach, making him squirm.

There was nothing in Sasuke's bed. The sheets were straight and neat, it was clear that no-one had slept in that bed tonight, and when Naruto turned to slowly look at his own bed there was nothing either. The cold thing in his stomach was suddenly at least twice as big, and the blonde let out an odd growl, trying to think. All the relaxation was gone from his body as he sat down on Sasuke's bed, fighting the headache that he could feel coming, and tried to tell himself that now would be a good time to get magically sober again.

Of course nothing happened, and after good twenty minutes Naruto found himself still sitting in the same spot. He let out a frustrated groan and flopped to lay on Sasuke's bed, his mind hitting blank. What was going on? All Sasuke's things were here, he couldn't have left, but he wasn't here either...

Naruto rolled over to his side and nuzzled the pillow his head was resting on. He huffed in annoyance and closed his eyes for a second, hoping that something would come to him that way. He was still too drunk to think about anything clearly, his world starting to spin when he tried to get up too quickly, and with a sigh the bounty hunter gave in to his body's demands.

The next time he opened his eyes it was light outside, and the room was still empty save for himself.

Sasuke groaned, his head lolling back as he started to slowly regain consciousness. The back of his head throbbed painfully where he'd been hit, and he found out he couldn't move is hands at all as he tried to rub his eyes. His eyelids felt heavy as he fought to open them, his body growing more aware of the position he was in. The raven let out a sigh, trying to ignore the pain on the back of his head, and then tensed as he heard someone else moving somewhere close.

Not wanting to be blind anymore, Sasuke slowly forced his eyes open, blinking a few times to get used to the light. Fortunately it wasn't bright, as if whoever had captured him had thought about his eyes when setting the lights, and it didn't get long until Sasuke could keep his eyes open.

He was sitting upright in a wooden chair, his hands tied behind his back and a rope binding his ankles as well, efficiently stopping any kind of escape attempts he might make. His head still throbbed painfully and it made it hard to concentrate on his surroundings, but with some effort he looked around. The room was small and very plain with no furniture which immediately made Sasuke think that he was probably trapped inside some kind of a closet, perhaps an abandoned one. For a moment he considered shouting for help, but the idea was gone as soon as it had come because when he tried to open his mouth, a strong hand appeared from nowhere and rested heavily on his shoulder.

"I see you're awake."

Sasuke swallowed thickly and refused to turn to look, the voice being more than enough to identify the man.

"Kakashi", he bit out, his voice sounding raspy and hoarse even to his own ears. The hand left his shoulder and brushed over his hair, making the raven shudder in disgust, and then it was gone.  
"What do you want?"

Sasuke wasn't sure if he should've been afraid, but he really couldn't bring that out. He was just annoyed and slightly nervous, his hands itching to punch the daring man from the bath house. He had no idea why he had been dragged here like this, but he was sure it had something to do with the fact that the man obviously knew who he was. The raven still wasn't able to shake of the feeling that he knew Kakashi, but he sure as hell wasn't going to ask.

"Just talk", Kakashi sing-songed, walking around the chair and dragging along another one, placing it in front of Sasuke so he could sit down and watch the younger man. He was wearing the same clothes he had had last night, or whenever it had been that they had went to the bath house with Naruto.

Naruto. The question rose from inside Sasuke before he could think about it at all, his lips moving on their own.  
"Where's Naruto?"

Kakashi looked mildly amused, his one visible eye lighting up a little.  
"Wouldn't you like to know?" he replied easily, glancing down at his open book's pages as if he was reluctant to leave it even for a moment.

Sasuke was hardly able to bite back a snarl.  
"I asked... Where is Naruto?" he repeated slowly, glaring weakly at Kakashi. His head was starting to get worse as he tried to hold it up and keep up with the glaring at the same time, and his fingers felt numb when he tried to stretch them. How long had he been here?

"And I told you rather clearly I'm not going to tell you", the older man stated firmly. He looked still just as bored as he'd been before, but he put away the book he'd been holding and shook his head, studying Sasuke's face with his only eye.

Feeling uncomfortable under the sharp staring, Sasuke shifted a little and closed his eyes for a moment, not feeling necessarily threatened at the moment. Sure, he was tied up like a prisoner, and even when he still could feel a certain cold-blooded determination oozing from the man, it didn't feel like this Kakashi was particularly dangerous to him. Besides, Sasuke had never been a coward and rarely even Orochimaru had managed to threaten him into silence when he had had something to say.

"Why not?" he demanded and his eyes narrowed as he watched the dry but humorous glint in the stranger's eye. Why didn't he feel like a real prisoner at all? It was almost like the man was toying with him rather than trying to scare him.

Kakashi shook his head again, some gray hair falling over his eyes and he swiped it away, giving Sasuke a crooked smirk.  
"Because you don't need that information right now. But don't worry, he's alright."

"I'm not worried!" Sasuke immediately snapped, his cheeks heating up lightly as he realized that had probably come out a bit too fast.

"Of course, of course", Kakashi murmured and let out a little chuckle before his face grew serious again and he gave Sasuke an intense look.

The younger man tensed again, his lips pressing into a thin line as he brazed himself for whatever would now be coming. He didn't know what to expect, and it was making him slightly uncomfortable. But as long as he couldn't see a gun anywhere things were fine; as long as he was kept alive he could bear almost anything.

Kakashi blinked slowly and then leaned closer a little, an unnamed emotion flashing in his eyes, before he looked away with a sigh.  
"You look so much like him..."

That wasn't exactly what Sasuke had expected.  
"What?" he asked, puzzled, and tried to make something out of the way Kakashi kept eying him with a look that was almost... sad.

"You really don't remember me, don't you?" The sadness was suddenly gone and the older man leaned back, relaxing in his chair.  
"No wonder though... You weren't even born..."

Sasuke frowned, feeling slightly puzzled. Kakashi had just proved that he knew him, but how was it possible if he hadn't even been born back then, whenever that was?  
"Who are you?" he asked suddenly, studying Kakashi's face intensely. For some reason he felt like the information was really important, something he needed to know, and he was also aware that he probably wouldn't be leaving the place before he remembered who the guy was.

Amusement flashed in the older man's eyes and he smirked slowly at Sasuke.  
"Just Kakashi", he answered simply with a shrug, but the way he kept returning Sasuke's stare hinted of a deeper meaning behind the reply.

Almost growling in frustration, the raven tried tugging his hands free again, the urge to punch Kakashi growing almost unbearable. Or maybe he should just shoot the man when he got free, to get out of here. He didn't have time to waste...  
"Stop playing around", Sasuke snarled, trying to look threatening despite his not very convincing situation.  
"I'm in a hurry, I don't have time for your games..."

"Oh?" This time, Kakashi's voice was far from bored. In fact, he had sounded overly surprised, as if he was still mocking the younger man.  
"Why would you be hurrying somewhere? Running away from Rattlesnake's men, maybe? Or doing something for him... Granting him his final wish? How noble of you... I didn't realize you actually cared about him that much..."

At that, Sasuke started seeing red. He could've been able to bear listening to the other man picking on him, making fun of his current state or even his relationship with Naruto, but this... This was too much.

"How dare you?" the raven hissed through his teeth, glaring at Kakashi with such cold hatred that even the stoic man couldn't keep his face entirely bored. Sasuke noticed the tiny flinch, but it didn't bring him much joy, not right now.  
"Do you honestly think I would do something like that? After everything he did to me? I was never willingly helping him, you bastard! I was fucking sold to him, for God's sake!"

Kakashi remained silent as Sasuke yelled at him and trashed in his chair, struggling to get free. The gray-haired man didn't move as he watched the raven, but the smirk had faded away as he let it sink in what he had just heard.  
"...sold to him, you said?" he asked calmly, his eyes darting down to his book again. He hadn't given it any attention in a while, and thinking that it maybe felt a little bit left out he stroked the covers gently.

Sasuke's mouth snapped shut and he stared at Kakashi, horror clenching his insides as he realized what he had said. The way he had ended up in Orochimaru's hands was something he had never discussed with anyone, and blurting it out like this was something he had never wanted to do. The humiliation of being sold like a pathetic animal had been almost too much for him to bear back them, and the feeling had just gotten worse along the years.

"I see... Everything makes sense, then... Itachi killed them all, didn't he?" Kakashi kept talking, oblivious to Sasuke's mood change. When he received no answer he barely nodded at the raven, standing up with the bored look back on his face.  
"So you wasn't voluntarily working for Rattlesnake?"

"Never!" Sasuke bit out, his face feeling too warm. But he was just so embarrassed, his eyes already focused on the floor as he waited for the other man to come to some kind of decision.

Nothing more was said, and slowly Kakashi turned around and walked over to the door that was apparently behind Sasuke's back since the raven couldn't see it. He slipped out and closed the door, leaving the younger man in complete silence. Sasuke couldn't hear anything from the outside, and slowly he started to believe it wasn't even morning yet. His headache was now almost gone, only a dull but bearable throbbing remained, and he closed his eyes for a moment. He had no idea what was going to happen next, Kakashi hadn't given him any clues, and now that he was alone his thoughts returned to Naruto, wondering what had happened to him, if anything. Perhaps he had just spent a happy night with a pretty little hooker and then slept soundly until morning, if it was morning already. For some reason, thinking about that made Sasuke even more pissed off about the situation.

After what had felt like hours to Sasuke, he started hearing noise outside the room again. It had been all quiet before, his breathing being the only sound in the small room. He had tried to struggle against the ropes for a while after Kakashi had left, but with no knife it was impossible to get them off his wrists. The struggling had only made his ankles and wrists ache, the skin tearing, and finally the raven had given up with an angry huff.

And now it appeared that someone was coming to him again. Sasuke listened carefully as the voices came closer, one of them loud and almost drowning the other one. As he listened to the deep voice that was apparently almost yelling at someone else, he started to feel familiar tightness in his stomach, and the closer the voices got the worse he felt. He would've recognized Naruto's voice everywhere, and it made him suddenly feel cold all over. Had they captured him as well? It couldn't be, this had to be some kind of sick and twisted joke of Kakashi's...

"...and I swear, if you have hurt him at all I will rip your balls off! You have no idea what he's been through, you bastard..."

Sasuke closed his eyes exasperatedly, deciding that he didn't want to hear after all. Naruto's voice had trailed off for a moment, another voice that had to belong to Kakashi now speaking, asking something, and then the bounty hunter was yelling again. That was, until a key was turned in a lock and Sasuke braced himself for whatever would happen next.

There was a stunned silence that lasted for some seconds, those seconds being enough to clear Sasuke head as he held himself still, refusing to turn to look. It definitely hadn't sound like Naruto was a prisoner of any kind, but you could never be sure.

A low growl pierced the silence and suddenly there was a lot of noise, all coming from the blond-haired bounty hunter as he rushed forward, sinking to his knees to free the raven from the ropes. His fingers worked feverishly and then there was a side of a blade pressing against Sasuke's palm, the sharp metal cutting through the ropes easily. Naruto was letting out angry huffs and grunts as he worked to free the raven, Kakashi staying at the doorway, watching them with a hint of curiosity in his eyes.

Finally the bloody ropes fell to the floor and Naruto jumped up, walking over the chair to face Sasuke. The dark eyes were directed at the floor, black bangs falling over them to hide Sasuke's face from the view, but the blonde was taking none of that. He reached forward and grabbed Sasuke's face, lifting it as his eyes searched for the other's, trying to read the obsidian pools for any sings of pain.

"Sasuke?" Naruto murmured with comforting yet slightly panicked voice, stroking the pale cheek with his thumb without noticing it himself.  
"Are you okay?"

He received no answer, but he couldn't help flinching as the dark eyes turned to finally look in his, biting cold anger swirling in them.

"Sasuke?" the bounty hunter tried again, and this time his voice was a bit higher than before.  
"Damn it, answer me! Are you hurt somewhere? Did he do something?" Sasuke looked so weird to him, and he had obviously been struggling a lot, what if Kakashi had really done something, why was Sasuke even here...

"My my, Naruto, you're hurting my feelings", Kakashi drawled from the doorway where he was still standing.

Naruto gave the older man a half-hearted glare, his attention still on Sasuke.  
"I know well enough what you're capable of", he murmured at Kakashi, and then yelped in surprise as Sasuke suddenly moved, his hand coming up in a fast motion to swat Naruto away like an annoying bug.

Too many things happened too fast for Naruto to follow. Sasuke was telling him to hand over the knife and he did, but just as the raven's fingers touched the blade Kakashi was there, someone cursed loudly, blood splattered on Naruto's hand, the blonde stumbled backwards and he heard the chair scraping against the the floor as Sasuke struggled against the rope that was still holding him seated, hissing at Kakashi. It all took less than three seconds.

Silence fell again, and the stunned blonde found himself sitting on the floor and staring at Kakashi with wide eyes. The older man was standing behind Sasuke, the knife he was holding pressed against the raven's neck, and the bored look he usually wore had finally given way to something sharper, harder.

Sasuke was not moving. He was breathing heavily, careful not to shift even a little bit to keep his throat still in one piece, but his hands were clenching the edges of the chair painfully hard and his jaw was tense, his dark eyes glaring at the wall behind Naruto. Slowly, sensing that the blonde was watching, he let his gaze drop for a moment, and something flashed in the black depths, something Sasuke probably hadn't meant to let on the surface.

That sobered Naruto enough that he could stumble up from the floor, his brows knitting together in angry frown as he stalked closer to the chair, torn between trying to get Sasuke to look at him again and concentrating on Kakashi alone.  
"What the hell, Kakashi?" he spat out, his hands clenched into fists and shaking from anger as he fought the urge to grab the hand that was holding the knife and wrenching it away from Sasuke. Even if he did trust Kakashi, the situation was making him nervous in a very unpleasant way.  
"Let him go, you old pod!"

The one-eyed man slowly shook his head and the blade stayed in its spot, keeping the raven immobilized.  
"Not yet, Naruto." Kakashi's voice was calm and quiet but free of any signs of boredom and disinterest. His gaze was glued on Sasuke, he kept studying the raven as if expecting him to do something rash.

"What's wrong with you?" Naruto half-yelled in frustration, flailing helplessly. He felt so useless, standing there, but there wasn't much he could do for Sasuke at the moment. The raven wasn't in an immediate risk of death, but he was threatened by Kakashi nonetheless, and no-one on their right mind would feel comfortable around a man with a record such as Kakashi's.  
"Let him the hell go, what do you think you're doing? He's done nothing wrong!" He stepped closer again, looking from Kakashi to Sasuke and then right back, not wanting to miss anything.

In response, Kakashi arched a brow and a look of dry amusement crossed his face.  
"Nothing? Are you sure?" he asked sarcastically and Sasuke tensed, his hands still holding onto the chair.  
"I believe there are lots of things he's done in his life... Things that you might not be aware of."

Naruto blinked stupidly, but then his anger flared again, the blue eyes darkening as the need to defend Sasuke grew.  
"Shut up! You know nothing, Kakashi! I saved him from Rattlesnake, I [i]saw[i] what it was like! Just let him go right now you beef-headed coot!"

Again, Kakashi refused to listen. He only shook his head, giving Naruto an interesting look.  
"Saved him? You? I don't think so", he drawled, pretending that he didn't notice the way Sasuke had started to fidget nervously. The conversation obviously wasn't going to a way he would've wanted it to.  
"I think you should've kept a better eye on this little Nancy-boy instead of spending your night painting your nose and entertaining that pretty painted cat..."

Naruto's eyes flashed dangerously and he let out a feral growl, refusing to look at Sasuke. Kakashi was raising his bristles on purpose and the blonde knew that man had no intention of telling him anything actually important, he just enjoyed toying with him like this.  
"Enough!" he snapped, his self-control already cracking.  
"Let him go, and then we can talk all you want!"

Kakashi stared back at him for a moment, showing no emotion as he contemplated the choices. Then, slowly, he pulled the knife away, the blade leaving a thin red line on the tender skin.  
"So you really trust this dude... How unexpected..."

Still shaking from anger, Naruto held out his hand for the blade, and after Kakashi handed it over he knelt down to cut away the ropes from Sasuke's ankles. His forehead wrinkled as he fought to keep his hands steady as not to cut the raven's skin. It took him a moment, but finally they fell to the floor and Sasuke immediately stretched his feet, almost kicking Naruto in the process. Naruto simply glared at him, getting up to cut away the final ropes that were still keeping Sasuke tied to the chair when Kakashi stopped him, firmly grabbing his arm.

"Wait", the older man suggested with hard voice.  
"Are you sure you know what you're doing?"

Had it been anyone else but Kakashi, Naruto might've thought there was a hint of concern in his voice, but now he just sneered and shook Kakashi's hand away.  
"If he was out to kill me, he would've done that already. And besides, he's not a dude." His anger had deflated quickly as it always did, although there was something lingering in his mind, making him tense and annoyed.

Kakashi watched Naruto cutting off the final ropes, a thoughtful look in his eye. He couldn't recall seeing the young bounty hunter like this in a long while, so riled up for someone's else sake. He could see trust and something that he couldn't quite place on Naruto's part, but the other man was harder to read... But then again, he was an Uchiha, and Kakashi had long ago realized that no-one but another Uchiha could really understand what was going on in their heads. Yet even if Naruto trusted this former shake of Rattlesnake's, it didn't mean the raven was completely clean.

Sasuke had remained silent through the whole conversation, and when the ropes loosened around him he shook them off and slowly stood up. His legs were numb and he was tense and stiff, his joints letting out little pops and cracks as he took a couple of steps forward, feeling surprisingly weak. The headache returned immediately, the back of his head throbbing painfully and he fought to keep his face impassive as he felt Naruto's eyes on him, knowing that the blonde was looking for a reason to coddle him some more.

"Are you feeling okay?" The bounty hunter immediately asked just like Sasuke had expected, and he reached to touch Sasuke's arm, only to have the raven swatting his hand away. A frown crossed Naruto's face and he glared at Kakashi again, blaming him for Sasuke's sour mood.

Sasuke turned around, facing Kakashi, and his eyes flashed dangerously. He was not letting it on, but his insides were bubbling with anger and hatred. The man had insulted him repeatedly, but the insults weren't what really mattered to the raven. He could take being called a dude no problem, Nancy-boy was more annoying especially when he had tried his best to become more masculine, but what really bothered him was the way the older man was so suspicious of him. He hadn't been there willingly after all, and he was sure Kakashi was aware of that, yet still the man kept giving him this doubtful look, almost as if he was expecting Sasuke to shoot both him and Naruto at any moment.

Rolling his shoulders, Sasuke glanced around and then back at Kakashi, avoiding Naruto's eyes. He was still pissed off at the blonde, he would've never been knocked out and dragged here for this stupid interrogation had it not been for Naruto, and he didn't have the energy to deal with Naruto right now.  
"Where's my gun?" he asked calmly, keeping his eyes on Kakashi. The question also included the knives he had had hidden in his clothes but were now gone, because there was no way Sasuke would leave this room unarmed.

Kakashi shrugged one shoulder and suddenly smirked at the raven. However, his next words were directed to Naruto.  
"Should I give them to him?"

Naruto groaned in frustration, giving Sasuke a quick glance before returning his stare at Kakashi. He was tired of these stupid games and Kakashi's suspicions and being confused in general. The latter was mostly caused by Sasuke though, and the way the raven stole all his attention and stayed in his head even when he tried not to think about him.  
"I already told you, you scamp. We need to get going", he snarled, the darkened blue eyes watching as Kakashi shrugged again and left the room for a moment.

He came back before neither Sasuke nor Naruto had the time to think about running away, holding Sasuke's revolver and a couple of knives in his hands. The gray-haired man handed them over to Naruto, giving Sasuke just one more meaningful glare.  
"You're free to go", he informed them, smiling pleasantly as all he received were two almost identically pissed off glares.

Snatching his weapons from Naruto, Sasuke slid the gun into its holster and kept the knives in hand as he headed out of the door, keeping an eye on Kakashi as he went.

Naruto cleared his throat and then turned to follow, his anger slowly fading into complete confusion. He couldn't understand what this whole scene was all about, something was still wrong. And as if to emphasize that, when he was about to pass his old teacher the man reached forward and grabbed his elbow, still giving him the same odd smile.

Before Naruto could as much as yelp in protest, Kakashi had leaned closer, way too close actually, his breath was ghosting over Naruto's ear as he spoke.  
"Don't trust him more than you'd trust Black Weasel himself. He might not act like he it, but he isn't all that innocent." He pulled back again, and when Naruto had finally recovered from his surprise, Kakashi was already leaning against the door frame with his precious book in his hands, looking like nothing had happened.

Knowing that he would get nothing more out of his teacher, Naruto exited the room with a confused frown on his face, his thoughts swirling around in his head. Why would Kakashi mention Black Weasel? The bounty hunter was sure it wasn't a coincidence, Kakashi never did anything without a meaning. He had the feeling there was something he should understand, something behind those words that would tell him something very important about Sasuke and what had happened here, but he couldn't bring himself to make the pieces fit. Although it was good to see that his old teacher hadn't changed, Naruto wouldn't have minded a bit clearer piece of advice. No matter how great a bounty hunter Kakashi had been on his prime, it didn't mean he had to act all that mysterious all the time.

Shrugging, he jogged out of the building, searching for Sasuke with his eyes. Whatever Kakashi had tried to say could wait a little longer, it didn't appear to be too urgent anyway, and now he had to catch up with the raven and... apologize? Naruto's stomach clenched unpleasantly as he thought about apologizing. Would he have to? He hadn't done anything wrong, after all, it wasn't Naruto's fault that Sasuke had refused the lady he'd been offered and decided to run away into the night all by himself.

Sasuke's anger had obviously sped up his feet as well, because Naruto didn't even see him before their hotel. As the building came into view, he caught a glimpse of familiar dark hair disappearing into the building and then the door was shut, making the blonde curse under his breath. He had been jogging to catch Sasuke before he reached the hotel, but no, the bastard had to practically run away from him like that and leave him hanging.

Grumbling to himself, Naruto hurried to the door and then inside, to finally grab Sasuke's shoulder at the door of their room. The said shoulder tensed immediately, and the bounty hunter could see that the raven was fighting against the urge to shrug him away.

"Sasuke." The word came out choked and fast, and Naruto cleared his throat, his fingers tightening around the other's shoulder, not wanting to let him run away.  
"I... What happened?" Sure, Kakashi had told him the basics earlier, but he wanted to know if the man had left something important out.

Slowly, Sasuke turned his head, an unreadable look in his eyes as he gave Naruto an odd look, but he didn't attempt to shake the man's hand off.  
"Why are you asking? I bet he told you enough already." His voice was calm and collected, but something was different to how he'd been before. The raven sounded more reserved, withdrawn, like he was purposely keeping Naruto out. He hadn't opened up much before either, but now it felt like it had gotten just worse.  
"Now, let go. I have things to do."

A couple of quiet and sulky days later Naruto woke up suddenly, his whole body tingling unpleasantly. It was dark inside the room and at first he couldn't see anything, but even as he waited for his eyes to adjust to the lighting he couldn't shake off the restless feeling. It almost gave him chills, making his hairs stand up, and instinctively his hand went to search for his gun that was hidden under his pillow. His fingers met the cold metal and he sighed in relief, pulling the revolver out and holding it steady, ready to shoot if the situation called for it.

He waited quietly, listening closely to find out if there was someone else breathing in the hotel room. It took him a moment before he realized he was alone, but before the thought could really register a dark human figure flashed behind his window and Naruto let out a choked yell, firing towards the window. He hadn't survived this long waiting for others fire before he did.

In the middle of the sound of the glass shattering, Naruto rolled off his bed, hoping to use it as a shield between himself and the bullets. His breathing was heavy but he was no longer slightest bit sleepy, the surprise having shaken him awake.

Much to his surprise, the room remained utterly quiet, his breathing being the only sound before he heard heavy running steps from corridor outside the room and someone banged on the door.

"Hey? What's going on there?" a male voice demanded loudly, trying the door knob. Too bad Naruto had locked it when they'd gone to bed.

"There's someone outside the window!" Naruto called back although he had the feeling he was probably alone already. All he could see from the window now was a wall of another house and a bit of sky and some stars, no suspicious figures looming around and preparing to shoot him.

That was when Naruto remembered what had seemed off in the room in the first place. It was way too quiet, his breathing being the only one, and in a flash he had turned around and crawled to Sasuke's bed, panic clenching his stomach.  
"Sasuke!" he hissed loudly, reaching to pull away Sasuke's covers.

The bed was empty. Again.

The man behind the door shouted something again, and still staring at the bed in shock Naruto crouched and made his way to the door, holding his gun ready as he opened it. He was greeted with a sight of the owner of the hotel standing at the door, holding a gun as well as he peered at the blonde.

Naruto, however, had turned away as soon as he had checked there was no-one else with the hotel keeper, and was no inspecting the room, looking around for any signs of Sasuke. There was absolutely nothing. Everything Sasuke had carried with him were gone save for the sack where his dress had been kept, and Naruto had the sinking feeling that Rayo wouldn't be there either. His stomach burned as he clutched his gun, trying to reason with himself. The raven had left, again, but this time for good. It didn't look like he was coming back at all.

"...your friend?"

The hotel owner's words slowly registered in Naruto's mind and he spun around, shaking his head hastily at the man.  
"I don't know, but I have to go now... I'll pay when I come back!" He was a regular customer after all, and he knew the man would go demand the money from Kakashi if Naruto didn't make it back to the hotel in a few months.

The bounty hunter hastily pulled on some clothes and stuffed some necessary equipment to Sasuke's dress sack. The hotel keeper was staring at the broken window as Naruto rushed past him and down to the stairs, trying not to make too much noise. It had to be past midnight already, most of the hotel guests were asleep and even if he was freaking out he was thoughtful enough to not disturb the other guests.

Naruto made his way to the tables in a record time, and he was greeted with the sight he'd been expecting; no sign of Rayo anywhere. Whirl looked like he'd been dozing a little, but as Naruto unceremoniously rushed into his stall and started saddling him the stallion was quickly awake and giving Naruto a doubtful look.

"Sorry, boy...", the blonde murmured, patting Whirl's neck apologetically.  
"But tonight we have to run after one stupid princess."

And in no longer than five minutes they were out of the stable, heading down the street. It irked Naruto that he had no idea where to go, no hint of Sasuke's whereabouts or destination, but he trusted his tracking abilities enough. Which meant that as soon as he passed a saloon, he stopped in front of a group of very drunk men to ask a couple of questions.

The confrontation left the men slightly richer and Naruto with a direction to go to. One of the drunkards had said that a man with piercing eyes on a crazy-looking black horse had passed them no longer than twenty minutes ago, and the bounty hunter had immediately recognized the description. The other man, the one that was less drunk, had also mentioned that the spooky guy had apparently been in a rush and it had been obvious that he'd been heading out of the town. Some said that it wasn't smart to trust the drunk, but Naruto had learned otherwise during the years.

That was why the town was soon left behind him and he rode forward in the quiet night. He was probably feeling more nervous than he should've, but the road he was currently following would take him to the abandoned Uchiha ranch before eventually leading to the next large town. Not that Naruto liked admitting it, but if he could decide he definitely wouldn't have been passing the ranch by night. The other road would've taken so much longer that he hadn't even considered it for real, knowing that since Sasuke wouldn't care about ghosts.

The closer he came to the said ranch the slower Whirl seemed to walk, as if reflecting his rider's mood. The bounty hunter was itching all over thanks to his nerves, worry about Sasuke and the fear of ghosts almost choking him as he forced himself to keep Whirl walking. He felt sweaty and unsure, his hand shaking slightly as he clutched his revolver like a drowning man clinging to a tree branch, and his eyes darted nervously around. The ranch was already there, looming in the horizon, but Naruto knew from experience that even if the building looked like it was still far away, he would be there sooner than expected.

Everything around the ranch felt eerie. It was dark, the trees looked dead and a run-down gate creaked quietly as the slight wind made it shift a little. Other than that, Naruto couldn't see or feel any signs of wind, the windows of the main building looked like dark, unforgiving eyes staring at Naruto, and every crack of branches Whirl stepped on made the man jump in the saddle and wave his gun blindly in the air, ready to shoot at a vicious ghost if one came to view.

The whole place looked so dead, the blonde was sure not even rats or lizards lived there. Absentmindedly he wondered what kind of place the ranch had been on its days of prime, but it was hard to imagine any living creature habiting this place. Shivering, Naruto headed towards the main building, but everything came to a halt as a faint light suddenly flashed in one of the windows. The blonde let out a muffled shriek, his instincts screaming at him to run for his life. It was the ghost of the younger brother, he knew it was, the ghost had come to murder him, mistaking him to the man that had slaughtered his family years ago...

Had he not been mounted, Naruto would've been running halfway back to the town already. But Whirl wouldn't let him. Huffing, the horse pushed forward toward the building, with his rider practically shaking from fear in the saddle. The road went very close to the house before turning sharply away from the ranch again, and every step closer to the building made Naruto's throat feel tighter. Another horrified gasp escaped Naruto's lips as the light moved, past another window, and then faded again until it was dark again inside the building. The ever so courageous bounty hunter swallowed, his hands feeling weak as he kept his hold of the reins and waited for Whirl to get close enough to the house.

It had been only a step or three before a soft neigh caught Naruto's attention. Unlike the other sounds here, that neigh had sounded surprisingly alive and coming from something that still breathed and ate. Whirl raised his head sharply before answering the neigh with another one, picking up his pace as he now clearly headed towards the building. Terrified, Naruto sat in the saddle, his eyes almost shut as he hoped Whirl wasn't wrong with this one. According to the horse's behaviour, he could guess it was Rayo there, and staying in a place like this was so Sasuke's style.

A moment later Naruto reluctantly peeled his fingers off Whirl's mane, patting the horse gently one more time before stepping away. Rayo was just some feet away from Whirl so at least the horse wouldn't be getting bored or scared, and for a moment the bounty hunter wondered if he could simply stay here with the horses and wait for Sasuke to come out on his own.

Because now it was already very clear that Sasuke was in there. Rayo was out here waiting for him, tied loosely enough that she could be freed quickly if there would be a hasty retreat, and she was also moved out of the plain sight to behind the main building. Somehow it pained Naruto to see how well Sasuke was hiding his presence, as if to make sure the blonde would never find him, and had it not been for Whirl he would've never stopped here. Sasuke was weird, but he never would've guessed this weird.

Swallowing thickly, Naruto inched away from Whirl, walking slowly around the house to the closest door. He kept close to the wall, to make sure no-one or nothing could attack him from behind, his knees still feeling oddly soft as he reached a door that he thought might lead to a kitchen. Going to the front door hadn't even crossed Naruto's mind, that would be suicidal in his opinion, and so he silently grabbed the doorknob and took a deep breath, trying to calm his nerves. The light inside the house had not been a ghost. It had been just Sasuke, not some kind of freaky ghost waiting for him to walk into its trap...

Had Naruto seen himself he might've mistaken himself to a ghost actually, so pale he was as the pushed the door open, wincing as it let out a low creak, and then slid inside. He closed the door softly, leaning his back against it as he took in his surroundings, letting his gaze travel around the room.

He had indeed entered a kitchen. It was a large one, with lots of closets and a huge oven, and a large wooden table with two long benches was placed on the far right. On the wall above the stove hung a line of smaller pots and wooden utensils, and Naruto's gaze also slid over a wooden baker's rack. On almost every counter top there were all kinds of jars, and the blonde briefly imagined how difficult it would've been to sneak here to steal a couple of cookies if you didn't know which of those was the cookie jar. Then he shook his head, dismissing the thought, and stepped away from the door.

Moon was shining through the window, giving the room the same eerie atmosphere that had held the whole house and its grounds outside. The warm shades of brown and red were somehow mutilated by the pale light, and even the horse shoes Naruto had noticed on the wall seemed to be casting wavering shadows to the room. It was difficult to keep his imagination from taking over, and Naruto wished from the bottom of his heart that he would've had taken a lantern with him. He had a small one with his packages, but he knew that if he now went out of the house, he would not be coming back regardless of Sasuke being here.

The man rubbed his chin, the freshly shaved stubble feeling odd under his fingers. The room looked like your typical haunted house, and Naruto wanted nothing more than to turn around and run away. Although he was rather sure that if he tried, the door would not budge, and he didn't want to try feeling trapped like that. The crazy ghost had to be somewhere here.

Shaking his head, the bounty hunter took a couple of steps forward and then stopped in his tracks, his hand flying up to his hat's rim. It suddenly struck him that people had died here, quite a lot of people actually, which made this place... Well, definitely not sacred, but there was something in the air, something that made him take off his hat. There weren't many places that he honored that way, only when going to church (which he very rarely did) or a bath house he would agree to take it off, but for some reason it felt almost necessary here. Not that the dead cared, of course, but maybe the ghost of the slaughtered younger brother would feel a bit more favorable towards him this way.

Feeling a bit better yet kind of naked without his hat, Naruto tiptoed to the only door that was open, appearing to the middle of a long hallway. It looked like any other hallway he'd been before, only it was quite of dark in there, and as he glanced down the blonde flinched, noticing the dark stain he was standing on. It looked like the wooden floor had absorbed something dark and the stain had become permanent, and Naruto had no questions of what the liquid might be.

A violent shudder ran down Naruto's spine and he quickly stepped away from the stain into the hallway. He wasn't particularly sensitive to blood, of course not, but it was his surroundings that made the thing creepy. After that stain, the man made sure to glance down every now and then to make sure he wasn't standing on anything he'd rather avoid.

The worn out hat in his hand, Naruto kept walking down the hallway away from where he supposed the main entrance was. His other hand rested on the handle of his gun, not that it provided much safety considering how little damage bullets supposedly did to ghosts, but at least he felt better that way. The old floor squeaked under his feet as he made his way to the end of the hallway and he almost jumped out of his skin, the sudden sound scaring Naruto to half death. The way his heart pounded like crazy had him leaning against the wall, his hat pressed above his heart as he attempted to catch his breath, mentally scolding himself for being such an idiot. It was just the floor, no need to be afraid...

The expressive blue eyes closed for a second to help Naruto calm down, but as he opened them he was about to have another heart attack. Closer to the end of the hallway there were two doors open on the wall opposite the one he was leaning against, and from one of the doors faint light was shining and flickering softly. The shadows stretched as if the light source had been moving slowly, and Naruto had to bite his lip to hold inside a terrified whine. Suddenly he all he could think about was how much he wanted to find Sasuke and on the other hand, how happy he was that he was alone. Had he been here with Sasuke, the raven would never let him live this crazy state of fear down.

As Naruto watched, the light started to slowly move away again, and the blonde found the strength to push himself away from the wall. He knew that he should've called out to Sasuke when the man had been that close, but he couldn't bring himself to speak. Maybe Sasuke was crazy enough to walk around here making that much noise and even carrying a lantern, but Naruto sure as hell wasn't going to attract the ghost's attention. Not that there were any ghosts for real, of course.

...noise? Suddenly the hairs on Naruto's arms were standing up and he started slowly pull back, keeping himself close to the wall. He waited until there was an open door behind his back and slipped through it without even turning to look where he was going, his eyes still on the light that had started to move closer to the hallway again. The footsteps grew heavier and louder and Naruto found himself holding his breath, trying to keep as quiet as possible.

Something wasn't right here. Rayo had been outside which meant Sasuke had to be here, there was no way that devilish mare would've let anyone else bring her here. He couldn't also imagine any other place for the raven to go to, with so little equipment he couldn't have left for any longer riders so it made sense that he'd decided to stay here, close to Leaf Creek but in a place he knew Naruto would stay away from. It was clever, very much so, and the bounty hunter silently admitted that maybe Sasuke truly was a lot sharper than he'd thought in the beginning.

However, that didn't explain the footsteps and the light. Had it been just the light, Naruto would've been running out of the house already, but he knew for sure that ghosts didn't make so much noise. He stayed hidden in the shadows, waiting for the mysterious someone to come out from the room, and after a moment his efforts were rewarded. A tall, bulky man peered out of the room, stepping into the hallway. He looked quite average, his clothing being nothing to attract attention and there was nothing in his face to hold anyone's interest for a while. The lantern gave just enough light that Naruto could make out his features, and he could immediately tell he hadn't seen this man ever before.

A sigh of relief threatened to leave his lips but he refused to let it out, sliding deeper into the room he was currently in. The lantern man hadn't looked like he was going to check even the hallway properly, but Naruto wasn't going to risk it, not like this. His mind was desperately trying to bring some logic into this, having the man here, and he couldn't help but to wonder if it had been Sasuke's plan all along. Maybe he'd agreed to meet the man here and that was why he had been in such a hurry? And he hadn't told about the meeting to Naruto because it had something to do with Rattlesnake and his business.

That seemed like the most logical explanation but for some reason it made Naruto's heart sank and he had to swallow heavily. He hated it that Kakashi might've actually been right about Sasuke after all, that the right place for the raven would've been prison, despite what he'd said back then. It wasn't like Sasuke couldn't lie.

Slowly he shook his head, listening to the heavy footsteps moving away again, and then started maneuvering his way to the other side of the room where there was another door. The moon was providing just enough light for him to see the furniture in what he thought had been a dining room.

Naruto opened the door carefully and glanced around, seeing nothing but darkness. He couldn't help but to wonder where the lantern man had disappeared, but it wasn't on the top of his list right now; he had to find Sasuke.

After a moment the bounty hunter had located a staircase leading upstairs, and he stood at the end of it, staring up. The man wasn't sure if he wanted to go there, for some reason the darkness seemed even heavier on the second floor, but the way the odd man kept circling around the ground floor didn't leave him much choice. The first step let out a creak as Naruto stepped on it and he let out a muffled curse, glancing around in growing panic. had the man down here heard him? For long seconds he listened carefully, waiting for the footsteps start coming running towards him, but as nothing came he slowly moved close to the wall and started making his way upstairs. Inside his head he quickly thanked whoever had built this house and decided to have wall on the other side of the stairs instead of putting the stairs somewhere out open with only railings on both sides. Walking close to the wall made usually little noise, unlike trotting up closer to the railing.

There was still no steps downstairs as Naruto got to the second floor, his legs feeling significantly stronger than they had before. It made this so much easier, to have more people here, to know that there was at least something he could shoot here if things went wrong.

The second floor didn't differ much from the first, and Naruto glanced down at the hat in his hands, but ended up in not wearing it inside at all. Upstairs or not, the ghost of the house still hadn't disappeared. He shrugged and then glanced around, his eyes wide as he looked for a sign of the ghost being present. No ghost anywhere, but what he saw instead was faint light shining from one of the doors on his left. His curiosity peeked, Naruto swallowed and started to tip-toe towards the doorway, hoping that it would be Sasuke this time. He wouldn't give himself out yet, but it wouldn't hurt to spy on the raven a little to see what he was actually doing.

Naruto's brows were furrowed in concentration as he made his way closer to the door, listening carefully. Surprisingly, the only sounds he could hear in the dark house were the heavy steps from downstairs and almost inaudible rustling from a corner of the room which he suspected was caused by rats moving around. The room he was heading to was quiet, almost as if there was nobody inside, and briefly the blonde wondered if he'd been wrong about the light. Maybe the guy downstairs had left another lantern here and then left to look for whatever he was looking for down there.

It wasn't enough to make him get careless though, and Naruto drew in a deep breath as he pressed flat against the wall, inching closer to the door to peek inside. Fortunately the light didn't reach the doorway so whoever was in that room wouldn't probably see him thanks to the hallway being so dark. The calloused fingers held onto the gun tighter as Naruto slowly moved his head, peering into the room with only one eyes.

What he saw immediately was Sasuke. The man was standing in front of what looked like some kind of a drawer, his hands hanging down, held slightly apart from his body, and his posture tense. The light that came from a lantern on the floor revealed the blank look on his face, but he was obviously gritting his teeth and staring at something on the right side of the room, something that was hidden from Naruto's eyes for now. The bounty hunter tore his eyes away from Sasuke's face for a moment, a gentle gleam on the floor forcing him to look down to the raven's feet.

Sasuke's gun lay there, looking like it had simply been dropped to the floor, and Naruto couldn't understand what kind of idiot would throw his only weapon to the floor like that unless he was being...

"I wouldn't do that if I were you, Sasuke..."

...threatened. An unfamiliar voice echoed from the other side of the room and Naruto found himself shivering, a chilly feeling coursing through him as he tried to see what exactly Sasuke had been trying to do. It had to be something with his other hand, the one Naruto couldn't see from here, because he could easily tell the raven hadn't moved even a finger when he'd been watching.

"That's more like it... Behave yourself and I might not need to tie you up... Lord Orochimaru told me you never really enjoyed that."

The slightly nervous tingling in Naruto's gut changed into something totally else, a variety of emotions in fact. The man, whoever it was that had just spoken, had mentioned Rattlesnake in a way that left no doubts about what their relationship had been. 'Lord Orochimaru', which would've made Naruto laugh out loud if the situation hadn't been so serious, pointed clearly to this man being one of Rattlesnake's subordinates, and likely quite a close one if Rattlesnake had really told him such things about Sasuke.

That revelation about the raven was actually what was making Naruto's blood boil. Sasuke hated being tied up? He didn't even want to think about how Rattlesnake had found that out. He had noticed the man in front of him grow slightly pale at the mention of being tied up, and a wave of protectiveness flowed over Naruto, his hand clenching into a fist.

It had been bad enough to let Sasuke be caught by Kakashi that way. Practically sending Sasuke away alone to the night had been the stupidest thing to do, but he hadn't been in a condition to think about it over. He still remembered that rush of horror and panic he'd felt when he'd realized Sasuke was gone for the first time, and the guilt of being mostly responsible for it. He hadn't been able to protect Sasuke despite his good intentions, and in the spur of the moment he had sworn to himself that he'd protect the man from now on. Then Sasuke had gone missing again, and this was where Naruto found him.

Biting his lower lip hard to have the pain cover the rushing emotions, the blonde slowly moved so he could look at the other side of the room as well. His attention was immediately caught by a barrel of a gun that was aimed at Sasuke, explaining all too well why the raven was behaving so well. Gulping, Naruto tried to shake off the cold feeling and slowly moved his gaze to the man holding the gun.

He wasn't a large man by any standards, but he had a certain air around him that it made it hard to ignore him. There was nothing in his clothing that stood out, and the relaxed, confident look on his face made him look like he was strolling down the prairie with his horse instead of threatening another man with a gun. His hair was light, the moonlight giving it an almost silvery glow that didn't waver even in the light from the lantern, and although it briefly made Naruto think of Kakashi he soon realized that there were nothing else connecting those two. While the retired bounty hunter appeared mostly harmless, this man made Naruto shiver and pull his gun. The wheels were already turning in his head as he tried to figure out how he could take that man out and save Sasuke, without attracting the attention of the man downstairs. But then the man spoke again, and before the words had entirely left his lips, the bounty hunter felt his blood run cold.

"Sooner or later you will end up haunting this place though, just like you should be. But I'm thinking of a little necktie social to get you there."


	7. The Restless Breed

**Warnings:** Some MxM action, nothing heavy though.  
**Disclaimer:** Characters are property of a certain Masashi Kishimoto, I'm just borrowing them.

**A/N:** I'm so sorry! This has taken me ages and I feel horrible for it, but I've been so occupied with other stuff (such as finals and travelling abroad and so on) that I simply hadn't had the energy to write. I'm trying to get better, I swear, and please, if it seems that I'm going to slip into too long breaks between updates please kick me. The next chapter will definitely come up faster than this one u_u'

* * *

For Didi

* * *

Naruto wasn't the only one horrified, though. The words had made Sasuke tense, his face loosing all the color it had previously had and his jaw tightened. It wasn't like Naruto could read the raven well yet, but he was able to tell that Sasuke was scared. Even if the silver-haired man at the other end of the room didn't get it, Sasuke was scared for his life, and the mention of the hanging had just made it so much worse. The raven hid it well, though, his face was an emotionless mask only spotted with determination, but somehow Naruto just knew how it was for real. It surprised him actually, if you were going after someone like Black Weasel you couldn't be a very fearful person, and to see Sasuke that afraid... It was pretty scary on its own. He knew Sasuke was thinking about a way to escape, but it didn't look too good for the man right now, at least not without some help.

Slowly, praying the great God and all the spirits of nature that he wouldn't be spotted because he knew that man wouldn't hesitate to shoot him, the bounty hunter raised his gun and took a deep breath, deciding to count to three before jumping into the room. He didn't want to get too daring, but he wouldn't be able to shoot the man from this angle, and he still had the element of surprise on his side so he trusted his chances. He had done things like this so many times before, it was nothing new, but this time he was nervous simply because of Sasuke. Never before had he needed to care about someone else but himself, and now being responsible for Sasuke's life as well left Naruto more nervous than he could recall being in a long while.

Worrying his lower lip, Naruto started to count, keeping his eyes on the stranger. The man was talking again but the blonde tried not to listen, knowing that whatever it was it was only meant to piss Sasuke off and he didn't need to hear it. His lips were forming the words without a sound, the resolution setting inside him, and he drew in one last breath, his brows knitting together as he prepared to jump.  
_'Thr-'_

"...signs of your brother here, hmn?"

Naruto froze, his eyes wide open as he stared at the unknown man, his lips still apart as they had been stopped in the middle of a word. He glanced at Sasuke, surprise flashing through him as he tried to understand what was going on. Sasuke's brother? What did Sasuke's brother have to do with anything? Naruto hadn't even been aware of any kind of brother existing, so why did this man know about him?

"Too bad you won't get to use any of that knowledge." Rattlesnake's subordinate chuckled evilly, and Naruto found himself again gripping his gun.

Why hadn't he shot that man already? He should've done that, he had had his chances but here he was, still crouched down and listening to that bastard talking to Sasuke in a way that made Naruto's blood boil. His hands were shaking from barely contained anger and all he wanted was to jump up and bury a bullet deep into that man's chest. Or head, he wasn't all that picky, as long as the guy ended up dead and bleeding on the floor.

But no matter how much he wanted it, the blonde couldn't make himself do it. Mesmerized by the stranger's words, he found it impossible to stand up and pull the trigger when the man was talking about Sasuke's family. It was something Naruto had thought he'd never hear about, considering how reluctant Sasuke had always been to talk about anything personal, and now he had a chance. It made him feel dirty and definitely guilty, like he was poking his nose into things that were none of his business, but he couldn't move.

"I mean, I heard he's actually quite close at the moment. Maybe I'll send him a word later and tell him to come here to see how I ended his business for him. I mean, wouldn't it be ironic if you died here like you were meant to?" The silver-haired male still spoke with that same soft, silky voice, and then a sound of footsteps told that he was moving, getting closer to Sasuke.

"He wouldn't come." Sasuke's voice was low and firm, devoid of emotion as he spoke, and no matter how much he tried Naruto couldn't find even a hint of fear from it.  
"He doesn't care, you'd be just wasting your time."

Naruto had to bite his lip as he heard a hint of bitterness sneak into Sasuke's voice. He knew the raven hadn't meant to let it show, but it was there all the same, and apparently the silver-haired man had noticed it as well.

"Oh? You think so?" The man was getting closer all the time, the slow footsteps echoing in the dusty room.  
"Maybe you're right. He really has no rights over you after selling you, now does he?"

The bounty hunter's breath caught and he had to pull back to hide behind the wall for a moment. Too many things were going through his head at the moment, he couldn't bring himself to connect the dots. He knew there was something he was missing, a connection that he should be realizing, but all that was going through his head at the moment was how much he suddenly desired to go and hunt down Sasuke's brother. What kind of man could sell his own brother? And to someone like Rattlesnake, that was just sick...

"But enough with talking." the stranger's voice had grown hard, and Naruto's heart skipped a beat.  
"I think it's the time we go outside."

He had to move. Naruto knew he had to move, sitting here was getting him nowhere and he was so angry at himself for being so incapable of doing anything, but that man was making him so mad it was ridiculous. No-one had the right to talk to Sasuke like that! Not after... after everything. Stifling a groan, Naruto pushed himself off the floor and checked his revolver, holding it up and ready. He just had to wait until the man came out with Sasuke and he'd have a perfect chance...

That was when he sensed movement behind him, and he instinctively spun around, his gun pointing blindly at whatever it was behind him. The bounty hunter wasn't surprised to see the man from downstairs, but what threw him into action was the gun barrel staring at him in the face.

"I wouldn't do it", the large man murmured with low voice, taking a step closer and poking Naruto's forehead with the gun.

Naruto remained frozen for a long while, just staring at the man with the gun and trying to calm down his racing heart. God, no matter how many times he got surprised like this, it never failed to make him almost jump out of his skin. He really hated people sneaking up on him, it was such a pain when you weren't expecting it.

The gun nudged his forehead slowly, and Naruto briefly wondered why the man still hadn't called out to the silverhead in the other room. It would've been the most predictable thing to do, but for some reason the man just stared at him, holding the gun barrel against his forehead. Slowly, praying that Sasuke and the man wouldn't choose this particular moment to exit the room, Naruto let a small smile grace his face, hoping that it would keep the man from shooting him right away.

The stoic look on the stranger's face didn't change, even his eyes didn't show any signs of noticing Naruto's smile, and finally the blonde realized he was still wearing the scarf in front of his mouth, hiding his cheeks. Mentally he cursed himself, feeling extremely stupid for forgetting it, but at the same time he was happy he had that on; the large man might've shot him straight away if he had realized Naruto was actually a bounty hunter, and a famous one at that.

The silence stretched on, and Naruto drew in a deep breath, hoping that the man threatening him would come into some kind of a decision. Waiting like this was the worst, especially when every second took Sasuke closer to being hanged, and Naruto was slowly starting to feel like even being thrown into the room with Sasuke and his capturer would be better than just waiting here.

Then, without a warning, the man coughed loudly, almost too loudly to sound genuine, and immediately there was a sound of movement from the other room.

"Juugo?" It was not a question.

Without as much as a word, the man from in front of Naruto slowly lowered his gun and gave the blonde a long look before moving to the doorway.  
"Yes."

"That's good. Let's move him outside."

Naruto was left speechless, standing with his back against the wall as the man moved away and left him there without a word. He blinked stupidly, gripping his gun tightly while trying to make sense out of it all. He had been let go, just like that. That huge guy was obviously with the silver-haired man, yet he had let Naruto go without telling about him to that man. Something was definitely wrong with that, things just didn't work out like this.

There was shuffling inside the room and Naruto bit his lower lip, hoping that things would work how he thought they would. He still wasn't all that sure about that huge guy that had just let him go but he was having this gut feeling... And his gut feelings usually were worth trusting. The man might not be that bad after all.

The sound of footsteps pulled Naruto out of his musings and he gripped his gun, ready to shoot as soon as he had a chance. If he just got rid of that creepy silver-haired man he would be able to get Sasuke back safely and that was all that mattered. He just wanted Sasuke back and when he had him, he'd be happy to leave the third man go wherever he wanted to. The footsteps, three sets of them, came closer to the door and Naruto pressed himself against the wall as tightly as he could, hoping that all three men would walk past him before he fired the shot.

There was just one little problem with that plan, and that was Naruto's sense of honor. He refused to shoot people on the back, that was a sign of cowardice and disrespect and he never sank low enough to stop respecting his enemies. Yes, they had done lots of bad things, but considering how easily they had managed to escape and keep doing what they did they deserved some respect. They were, after all, very good at what they were doing.

The blue eyes widened slightly as Sasuke finally walked out of the doorway, and momentarily Naruto was caught staring at him again. The faint moonlight in the hall was the only light and it was making Sasuke's hair glow beautifully in the darkness, and again Naruto was reminded of the beauty of the dancer he had seen on the stage back in Snake's Lair. The fact that Sasuke was a man didn't change how fluidly he had moved and how much emotion there had been in his dance, emotion that the raven didn't show when he wasn't on the stage. It had been absolutely stunning, and the bounty hunter could still see the gracefulness in the way the man moved, even now.

Naruto let his eyes drop lower, to catch up with the situation. Sasuke's hands were tied behind his back but other than that he was as free as he could be in the situation. He was followed by the same silver-haired man and his gun that was aimed at the raven's head, brushing against the dark hair every now and then to make sure Sasuke wouldn't forget its existence. Judging by the way the raven's shoulders and jaw were tense there was no need for that though, the man was well aware of his situation. He was staring straight ahead and Naruto was almost glad for that, the last thing he needed would've been Sasuke noticing him and doing something stupid to give him out.

Naruto waited patiently, his gun aimed at the silver-haired man as they walked by. He felt surprisingly calm in the threatening situation and he recognized the feeling from his earlier jobs. It was a feeling that always came when he was about to finish one of the criminals he was after, when his hunt was about to end. The only thing making him worry was the gun aimed at Sasuke, if he wasn't careful he might end up startling the raven's capturer so bad he'd accidentally shoot the man, and that was one thing Naruto was never going to let happen.

They were almost at the stairs already when the bounty hunter finally moved, stepping away from the shadow.

"Hey, bastard!" That was it, he had given his warning, he could shoot without feeling bad. The silver-haired man turned to look at him, his gun lowering a bit so that it wasn't pointed at Sasuke's head anymore and that was when Naruto pulled the trigger, the familiar sound making adrenalin burst into his veins.

After that, nothing went like the blonde had expected. Someone yelled, but he knew it wasn't the man he had meant to shoot, and instead of his target it was Sasuke who fell down into a grumbled heap. He heard another gun shot and suddenly there was ripping pain in his shoulder. It brought an instinctive reaction out of him and he raised his gun as well, firing his second shot. There was another shout that faded quickly and then Naruto felt the floor swaying and suddenly changing places with the ceiling as his vision faded and his mind escaped the pain.

It was pitch black and his body felt heavy and he didn't want to open his eyes. The unconsciousness was lingering on him, demanding him back to its embrace and at that moment Naruto was willing to give in to it. He wouldn't have minded another trip to the empty darkness where there was absolutely nothing. He didn't have to feel, he didn't have to think and he didn't have to remember. It had been good, and now the cold hard reality was dragging him out of the dark bliss and forcing him to start noticing things.

Thousands of tiny lights were twinkling above him as he blinked slowly, his eyes getting used to being open again. It was a nice feeling actually, to look at the vast map of stars that covered the dark sky and feel the ground under his back. The rich smell of the earth rose to his nose and he inhaled deeply, releasing a long sigh. Nothing smelled quite as beautiful as the prairie in the night and Naruto took another deep breath, his toes curling pleasantly as he recognized the distinguish scent of smoke lingering around him. It made him feel comfortable, cozy even, and at that moment he decided that being awake maybe wasn't all that bad at all.

...wait, smoke? The blue eyes were suddenly wide open again, blinking rapidly. Smoke didn't belong to the prairie unless there was something causing it, and the only smoking thing around here could be fire. And if he had been sleeping, the who was feeding the fire?

Memories came rushing back to his head and Naruto swallowed around something that had suddenly stuck itself into his throat. Sasuke had fallen. He had fired, and then the raven had collapsed to the stairs like he'd been kicked down and there had been yelling and...  
"Sasuke", he whispered, rapidly pushing himself up from the ground. Yet as soon as he had moved pain blossomed in his shoulder and the man had to grit his teeth to hold inside the yell. His hand fell to his lap, limp and useless, and even through the pain he noticed something unexpected there. Crumbled in his lap was a rough blanket, the one he had carried with himself behind his saddle, and immediately confusion spread through his mind. What in the name of the Devil was going on?

A sound of soft footsteps caught his ears and Naruto whipped around, cursing aloud when the pain surfaced again. What he saw wasn't a pale face framed with silver hair and a mean smirk on that face, but a bunch of midnight black hair and a shape of a man drawing against the starry sky and the small fire that was flickering behind him and happily eating the sticks and pieces of wood in a stone circle.

"Sasuke...?" The bounty hunter's voice remained a whisper but as quiet as it was, the word carried easily over the quiet space between them and the man standing above him nodded slowly before crouching down next to him. In the bright light of the stars and the moon Naruto could easily make out Sasuke's features now that the man was closer and he winced as he noticed a dark scratch going across the man's pale cheek. His skin seemed to almost glow in the moonlight and the bounty hunter had to fight down the urge to touch it to see if the glow would diminish under his darker fingers.

"How are you feeling?" Sasuke's voice sounded loud in the dark and he leaned even closer, examining Naruto's eyes with sharp cold eyes.

Naruto found himself swallowing with difficulty under the scrutiny and he shrugged with one shoulder, the uninjured one, to calm his nerves more than nothing else. It was hard to keep his face straight with the pain radiating from his shoulder like it did but it didn't hurt as bad as it should've if he had really been shot.  
"I'm okay", he finally murmured softly, giving the other man a pointed look. It hadn't sounded nice at all when the raven had spoken so loudly, the peace of the night was to be saved and Naruto wasn't going to allow Sasuke to break it again by speaking like that.

The raven didn't seem to buy his words but shrugged anyway, and without saying a word he moved around Naruto, stopping at his hurt side. His hands were gentle and surprisingly cold as he started to fiddle with Naruto's shoulder, unwrapping a bandage the man hadn't noticed before.

The blonde watched with an almost fascinated look in his eyes as Sasuke's fingers gracefully peeled off the fabric, never pressuring or in any way hurting the already throbbing wound. The raven was being so careful with him it made Naruto wonder if the man had more experience in this than he had let on before. He was still tempted to touch that wound on Sasuke's cheek but he had the feeling that his concern wouldn't be appreciated and so Naruto held himself back, feeling content enough just watching Sasuke for now.

What was revealed under the bandage though made him cringe and he throw a questioning look at Sasuke. There was blood on his shoulder but it wasn't that what bothered him, not at all. It was the weird dark paste covering the wound, something that looked almost like leaves that someone had eaten and then thrown up again and the smelled almost the same as well..  
"What _is _that?" Naruto asked, tearing his gaze away from the wound and returning it to Sasuke.

"Leaves", was the short and very unsatisfying answer and then the pale hands were gently wiping the wound with a piece of cloth that had apparently been dipped into warm water. It stung on the wound and Naruto grit his teeth, turning to look away. He refused to show any pain to Sasuke, knowing how much the raven despised weakness, and it was easier for him anyway when he wasn't watching. He had no idea what that black thing had been but he had the feeling he didn't want to ask; the answer might've been something he didn't want to hear.

"What happened?" was what he asked instead, and the cloth on his skin stopped for a moment, resting against his shoulder. Silence weighed heavy, broken only by the cracks of the burning wood in the fire, and for a short moment Naruto thought he might've said something wrong. He couldn't' for the life of him imagine why Sasuke wouldn't want to tell him about what had happened but the raven was weird like that; he got all guarded and careful for no reason at times. Talking to him was like dancing around a rattlesnake that was ready to strike; you could hear the rattling but you didn't know what would trigger it to attack.

An inaudible sigh of relief left Naruto's lips when the cloth began moving again, rubbing his wound gently to remove everything that didn't belong there, and before he had a chance to say anything Sasuke broke the silence.

"You shot him." His voice was quiet and low but there was neither guilt nor accusation in his voice. His hands never stopped working as he leaned a bit closer to Naruto, letting his other had rest on the man's bare shoulder.  
"Are you stupid or why would you warn him like that?" Still Sasuke didn't sound angry, his voice kept the calm quiet tone and he pulled the piece of cloth away.

"It's not..." Naruto closed his eyes for a moment as the cold air embraced his tender shoulder and his inhale was a shaky one.  
"...honorable..." He opened his eyes again and forced himself to look back at Sasuke, only to see the raven chewing on something.  
"...to shoot to the back. What in the hell are you doing?"

The raven decided not to answer and instead spat to his hand, making Naruto arch his brows. It wasn't before Sasuke brought his now filthy hand close to Naruto's wound that the man raised his other hand to hold the raven away, a look of confusion and disgust crossing his face.  
"Hey hey, don't even think of rubbing your spit to my skin!" his voice was just a little louder but it was enough to make him sound out of place, the rough tone not really fitting the feeling of the night. A frown appeared to his face as Sasuke seemed to ignore his words completely and instead plastered his palm against the wound.

Another wave of pain sparked from the shoulder and Naruto couldn't help the muffled grunt as the raven slowly rubbed his hand across the small wound.  
"What the hell, bastard...", he murmured, glaring at Sasuke with all he got. It wasn't much though, not at the moment at least. It was dark, he was tired, and Sasuke was so close it was making it hard for him to think. Suddenly he was quite glad for the pain, it was helping to keep him from straying to other thoughts that were not to be thought about when Sasuke was around.

"Stop whining", the said bastard murmured after a moment, pulling his hand back and inspecting his work. The dark paste was again covering the wound all over and he nodded, clearly satisfied with his work before his hand went to search for the bandages that he had placed on his lap.  
"It's an old herb, it helps with the pain." That was all the explanation Naruto got before the slender hands were again wrapping the bandages to his shoulder to keep the wound clean and the chewed herbs in.

"It does?" Naruto asked slowly, keeping his eyes away from his shoulder as the fabric was tied around the wound to keep it from getting infected. Sasuke's fingers were moving so effortlessly that he could've watched them for hours, but staring at them would've been a bit too freaky.  
"How do you know?"

Sasuke was silent as he tied a knot over the wound and then gave it look to make sure it was alright. Apparently it was satisfying because the man nodded to himself and leaned back a little to get more comfortable.  
"My mother was part Indian. I don't remember much but she taught me something about herbs." That was quite a confession, coming from him since he didn't really talk about his past.

Naruto arched his brows curiously and opened his mouth to ask more about Sasuke's mother when he was suddenly assaulted by a very persistent memory. He was taken back to the moment where he was hiding behind the wall, listening to that man talking to Sasuke about his brother, and his mouth snapped shut as he looked away. Again he was feeling more awkward than anything, but curiosity was slowly making it through as well as genuine concern.  
"Quite a family you have then, hmn?" the bounty hunter asked slowly, knowing that he was playing with fire now. He knew Sasuke didn't want to talk about it and he couldn't blame the man, but he had to know, he just had to. After hearing what he had heard earlier the way there was no way Naruto could just let it go.

And saying that Sasuke didn't want to talk about it was an understatement. He got so tense it had to hurt and he turned away from the other man, facing the fire.  
"I did, yes", the raven admitted reluctantly, but judging by the frown on his face it would be all he was willing to say.

A matching frown appeared to Naruto's face as he watched Sasuke get all uncomfortable and it made him almost feel bad, making the raven talk about it. But he just couldn't get over the feeling that he was missing something crucial and he knew he wouldn't rest until he found out what it was.  
"Why did your brother sell you?" Naruto asked, keeping his voice low and quiet as if he was hoping it would keep Sasuke from freaking out. For some reason he had the feeling that if he was ever going to get the raven to open up a little, it might be now.

"None of your business", Sasuke snapped immediately, shifting uncomfortably but still not moving away.

The fire was slowly starting to fade away because no-one was there to feed it anymore, and idly Naruto wondered why Sasuke had placed him so far away from it.  
"Why didn't your parents stop him?" he kept going instead of delving into the matter of fire.

"I told you already, not your concern." The raven's words were short and clipped and he was clearly starting to get annoyed with Naruto's prying.

But the bounty hunter didn't have it in him to give up that easily so he chose to press things still further, knowing that if he got Sasuke real angry with him the man might let something slip. It was a gamble that could turn against him but he was ready to risk it.  
"And what did that man say about finishing your brother's job?" he asked and then almost jumped as Sasuke turned back to him so fast he momentarily resembled a snake, the black eyes flaming as they stared right into Naruto's.

"Shut up", the raven snarled, pushing himself up from the ground.  
"Shut up when you have no idea what you're talking about!"

Inwardly Naruto was celebrating, but he put on an annoyed face as he glared back at Sasuke, trying to get an even stronger rise out of the man.  
"Well you can't blame me! You refuse to tell me anything!" And it was even the truth! He wanted to know and he wanted to help but he couldn't.

The dark eyes flashed and suddenly Sasuke was there, on his knees right in front of Naruto, so close the blonde could've kissed him had he wanted to.  
"That's because you don't need to know!"

"The Devil, Sasuke, of course I need to!"

"No you don't! So just stay out of my past!" Sasuke's voice was getting louder by every word and he reached forward to grab Naruto's shoulder as if to shake him since there was no shirt to hold.

Naruto, instead, was in a lot better situation that thing considered. Without hesitation he grabbed the front of Sasuke's shirt and pulled him down, a surprisingly hard look in his eyes. So what if he had been trying to make Sasuke angry, the raven was being just stupid now and he wasn't going to take it.  
"Damn it, Sasuke, don't you get it?" he growled, taking satisfaction in the way the other man's eyes widened just a little at the words, "You've been hurt and I want to help you! Just like you're helping me now!"

"But I don't want your-" The older man was never allowed to finish his sentence. The strong hands holding onto his shirt pulled him even lower until the bounty hunter's chapped lips brushed against his, and after a murmured "just like you're helping me" those lips pressed against his.

It was a shock for both of them. Naruto clearly hadn't been thinking about what he was doing and he froze the moment his lips touched Sasuke's, his eyes wide and shocked. He looked almost too surprised considering he was the one who had kissed Sasuke and not vice versa, but despite that he couldn't pull away, couldn't let go of Sasuke's shirt. Instead he pulled the man even closer until the raven was forced to place a hand on his chest and he blinked, staring into the unreadable dark eyes.

Well, at least Sasuke didn't appear disgusted, that was a good thing. Technically speaking Naruto was the one who should've been disgusted though so that wasn't probably saying much, but the raven hadn't pulled back either so it made the bounty hunter feel a bit more confident about what he was doing. It wasn't the kissing he had a problem with, he had kissed numerous girls along the years and enjoyed it too, but he hadn't done much kissing with other men before. None, actually, and this kind of action wasn't given a good eye from the rest of the population either so it was making him a bit cautious.

Lost in thought, Naruto had barely noticed how he had remained frozen his lips locked with Sasuke's, and he didn't make a move before Sasuke suddenly pulled back, pushing him away roughly.

"Well?" the raven hissed, trying to pry away the fingers that were still clutching at his shirt.  
"Was it that bad?" his voice was venomous and full of anger as he glared at Naruto, looking like he was contemplating hitting the man.

Naruto blinked stupidly, trying to understand why Sasuke was so pissed off and why he himself had been so angry before. The feeling of Sasuke's lips against his had left him a little fuzzy in the head and he wasn't quite sure how to proceed.  
"Huh?" he asked, clutching harder to the other man's shirt to stop him from going away.

"Or do you usually space out like that when kissing someone?" the anger in Sasuke's voice seemed to grow and mold with Naruto's confusion and he tried to pull back, his hands clutching Naruto's wrist.

"What? No!" The bounty hunter was slowly starting to get what the problem was and a frown crossed his face as his pulled the other man closer again, ignoring the furious vibes the raven was giving out.  
"Of course not!"

The black brows twitched and Sasuke narrowed his eyes, letting out a low snarl.  
"Well, nice to know, stuff!" He pulled back against the other's hold and when it didn't work he gave Naruto an estimating look before drawing his fist back and landing a quick blow at Naruto's cheek.

It wasn't a hard hit, Sasuke wasn't used to fighting like that and he didn't know where to hit to hurt the most, but it was enough to make Naruto's temper flare.  
"What in the Sam Hill, you bastard!" he half-shouted, rubbing his cheek with one hand while the other still held Sasuke close. The man clearly had a screw or two loose. Lifting his hand had hurt a lot more than the punch itself and he swore a bit, letting the hand fall down again to save the injured shoulder from strain.

Suddenly Sasuke's face was close to his again, the dark eyes flaming with barely contained rage that rose from a feeling of... humiliation.  
"I bet you'd enjoy it more if I slicked up and maybe did a stomp for you? Would that be nice?" He wasn't screaming, he wasn't yelling, but the secretly hurt hissing was a lot more biting than any kind of shouting.

"Dammit, Sasuke!" Naruto growled right back, his eyes starting to heat up to match the anger in Sasuke's as he stared at the man, still holding him close.  
"I don't like you because you were Raven! How stupid are you?" He didn't miss the look of faint surprise that flashed in the endless black eyes, but then the anger was back and Naruto could see nothing but that.

"Yeah, right." The man scoffed and went silent, apparently trying to calm down a little.

But Naruto would have none of that. With a furious snarl he held Sasuke still as he crushed his lips against the raven's, thrusting his tongue into Sasuke's mouth without hesitation. He let go of the shirt he'd been holding onto and quickly grabbed the back of the other man's neck, holding him still while the raven squirmed a little, fighting to get away from him. The fight was doing nothing to stop Naruto, in fact it just fed the excitement that was slowly rising in the pit of his stomach and mixing with the anger, and it wasn't before Sasuke actually bit his tongue that he pulled back a little, allowing both himself and the other breathe a bit.

"If I have to prove it to you this way, I will", Naruto murmured, and when Sasuke opened his mouth to say something he ended the protests with another kiss. And while it was just as rough and wild, hard and unforgiving as the last one, it was still different because this time the raven wasn't fighting to get away, he was fighting for control.

Arousal curling pleasantly in Naruto's stomach, the man groaned as the mood suddenly changed and Sasuke began sucking his tongue, inviting it deeper. He slid his hand from the other's neck to the silky hair, fisting it roughly while desperately wishing he had his other hand to use as well. If he ignored the pain he would be able to move it, sure, but he didn't want to be distracted just yet. Maybe later when he didn't care so much about anything anymore.

His lips felt moist and slick against Sasuke's and the fingers that brushed on his bare chest and then moved to his healthy shoulder weren't as soft as they had been the night when he had met Raven the first time. Sasuke's hands were only slowly getting calloused and rough like they usually did when you spent most of your time on horseback, and the unfamiliar touch sent little jolts through Naruto's body, making him pull the raven even closer. Sasuke didn't seem to mind but he was clearly careful with Naruto's shoulder, trying not to touch the bandaged area, and the bounty hunter swallowed his pride for now.

Slowly he pressed his body against Sasuke's, his bare chest rubbing against the leaner clothed one, until the raven let out a irritated growl and broke the kiss to glare at Naruto. That was exactly what the blonde had been waiting though, and he shifted a bit before dropping his hand to Sasuke's chest and pushing him back.

Unprepared, the raven flailed as gracelessly as it was possible for him, cursing as he found himself on the ground on his back. Above him hovered a certain bounty hunter with a lecherous grin on his face. It was the kind of look that had more than once earned men a boot in their crotch from Sasuke, but this time he didn't feel the unbearable urge to get away from the bearer of the grin. It did, however, annoy him that he'd been taken by surprise so easily, his wounded pride crying at him as he fought to get up again, only to be held down by a hard body that pinned him to the ground.

"What the hell, Naruto", the raven snarled, the dark eyes clearly visible and flaming even in the dark. His thighs were suddenly nudged apart by a curious knee and he gasped, old reflexes kicking in.

Without a warning a surprisingly hard flat palm smacked on the scarred cheek and a string of loud curses fell from Naruto's lips as he grabbed the hand that had just hit him, the pain exploding in his shoulder as he did so.  
"Stop hitting me, you bastard!" he half-yelled, unable to stop himself thanks to the pain. He was getting sick and tired of Sasuke smacking him all the time and fighting him like he was about to rape the man when he _knew_ Sasuke was just as into it as he was, he could feel the man's body reacting.

Or at least had been. Something flashed across the dark eyes and the man underneath him winced, trying to pull his hand back. Naruto glanced at their hands and realized that he was holding the other's wrist way too tight, and with a twinge of guilt he let go, wishing that he could've just beaten Sasuke's face in and left it at that. The arousal that had been there was slowly disappearing, leaving him feel just cold and somehow empty as he stared down at the raven's unreadable eyes.

With a frustrated growl, Naruto pushed himself up from the ground and stood up, facing the dying fire. He didn't say a word, just walked over to feed the flame a few sticks to get it going again and then sat down. He closed his eyes, letting the fire warm his face as he listened to the crackling of the wood and the soft shuffling sounds from behind him that could be nothing else but Sasuke getting up as well. Momentarily Naruto tensed as he heard the raven move closer and the hair in the back of his neck stood up, his instincts demanding him to turn around so he wouldn't be taken by surprise. His hand involuntarily moved to his gun belt to search for his gun that -thank Lord- was still there, and he fiddled with the handle of his revolver as he tried to fight down the urge to turn and possibly shoot. It was just Sasuke, nothing more.

The raven barely made a sound as he walked around the fire with soft steps, grabbing his bed roll and laying it on the floor as Naruto watched him. Slowly, as the threatening atmosphere started to dissolve, the bounty hunter pulled his hand back and instead rubbed his abused cheek thoughtfully, wondering if he would've ever tolerated such behavior from a woman. It was such a twisted situation in so many levels and for the first time in a while the man wished he could just walk into a saloon and drink until he didn't know where he was anymore. Never mind he'd gotten a bit tipsy that night when Kakashi, that bastard, had snatched Sasuke away from him, it wasn't the same thing. Now Naruto was just getting tired of thinking about Sasuke all the time, the raven wouldn't leave his head and he didn't know how to deal with it.

You just didn't get involved with men, period. He knew some men had strange preferences but they were always kept a secret because really, no-one wanted to know. It wasn't normal, hell, it wasn't even natural, and despite having felt somewhat disgusted at the thought of two men touching each other in any other way that fighting, Naruto found himself wanting to touch Sasuke. At first he'd blamed it on Raven, but now... He couldn't even fool himself but it had just been confirmed that he apparently could food the other man just fine. If shouting the fact that he wanted Sasuke despite his equipment to the raven's face wasn't enough of a proof, Naruto didn't know what was.

And besides, that didn't give him any explanation to the other man's completely irrational behavior and mood swings.

Grumbling to himself, Naruto slowly got up, glancing at Sasuke's back quickly. The man wasn't moving but he probably wasn't asleep anyway, and Naruto was kind of counting on that as he kicked the pile of wood in frustration, then heading over to grab his bedroll as well. Sleeping right outside the Uchiha ranch's main building didn't feel all that scary anymore now that he had been inside, although as he rolled up into his covers, facing the fire, he had to fight to stop thinking about the dark blood stains on the floors.

Next morning, Naruto got up with the sun. He woke up as the first rays of light reached him, and he sat up quickly, the haunting house in front of him startling him. The action irritated his shoulder and he gritted his teeth at the sudden pain, the memories from last night coming crashing back. With them came a slightly flustered feeling and Naruto reached to ruffle his hair, trying to shake off the sleep as his eyes automatically trailed to where he had seen Sasuke rolled up in his blanket.

Now, however, there was nothing but the blanket and Naruto blinked, shifting a bit. His mind wasn't working all that brightly yet and he had to stare at the blanket for a while to make sure Sasuke really wasn't there, hidden under the covers. The gunshot wound in his shoulder was still throbbing angrily and reflecting pain to his whole arm, and idly he wondered if it was starting to get infected. He didn't know what Sasuke had done to it earlier, but he hoped the man had dug out the bullet before starting to rub those weird herbs on him like that.

An unexpected warm feeling surfaced within the bounty hunter and he blinked again, shaking his head vigorously to get rid of the feeling. His mind was serving him a few way too detailed memories from the night before and Naruto snarled, rubbing his eyes. This wasn't how things were meant to go, not at all. He hadn't been looking for _this_, what ever this was that they had with Sasuke apart from lots of trouble, and now all these feelings that he wasn't used to were messing with his head and the time really wasn't good for that. He wasn't even going to try and lie to himself about the attraction, he hadn't done that in a while, but he was relieved to realize that there was no need for him to start imagining that he was in love either. It was just... It existed, it was there, drowsing somewhere in his head when he was away from Sasuke and lifting its head again when he saw the raven.

It was distracting, and distractions were something Naruto rarely had to deal with. He hated being distracted when he didn't want it to happen, when he was hunting distractions would only serve to getting him killed and right now he was more distracted than he had been in a long while. He hadn't even given a single thought to Black Weasel in a few days, and that was just... Sometimes Naruto had troubles understanding himself.

With a heavy sigh, he pushed himself up and away from the ground, shuddering a little. It was still a bit chilly although the sun was quickly warming the prairie up again, and he let his arm hang limply by his side as he glanced around. Sasuke was nowhere to be seen but Rayo was still there so the blonde supposed he hadn't ran away again, and idly Naruto thought he would have to ask the man to rub some more of that herb stuff to the wound to help with the pain. Along with that came that thought that he would probably throw some alcohol in it too to make sure it wouldn't get infected and the thought made Naruto grimace. Sometimes the cure hurt more than the actual wound.

The man hadn't even noticed how badly he'd zoned out, another proof of him being distracted, not before he heard an abnormally loud bang from behind him. He jumped out of surprise and pulled his gun, his heart hammering in his chest as he stared at the direction of the building with his eyes wide and mind racing.

There was nothing unusual. The building looked the same as last night save for the warm sunlight that was gently sliding up the walls, the horses were there and appeared seemingly unaffected by the horrible noise and nothing else was moving. Naruto stared at the peaceful scenery , trying to calm down and tell himself to stop being paranoid. Paranoia didn't explain the sound though, it had been almost like a gun shot but just somehow more... hollow. He didn't quite believe it could've been just either of the horses kicking the wall because really, they were facing it and he would've noticed if either of them had turned around, and there should've been no-one with a gun around, except...

Sasuke.

Naruto's heart that had calmed down a little already picked up speed again and he threw a wild glance around the area, seeing no-one. The bang had come from the house so he checked his gun before taking a couple of hasty steps to the door, only to stop in his tracks as his eyes caught movement. The main door was slowly opening,the creaking of the hinges loud to his ears. Swallowing hard, the blonde lifted the gun and aimed it at the door, ready to shoot if anyone but Sasuke came out of it.

Seconds ticked by and the bounty hunter was unable to move as everything seemed to be going at least two times slower than normally. The door moved, so slowly it seemed almost unnatural, but no-one stepped outside. There was no sound from the inside either, and with the adrenaline pulsing in his veins Naruto was almost ready to go and check. He was fast when it came to shooting, there was no way he could be taken by surprise...

A rough yelp escaped his lips as the wind suddenly caught the door and slammed it shut, the loud bang echoing in the vast yard and Naruto's ears alike. The man held his breath for a moment, feeling incredibly stupid as he glared at the door, and then released the air as a loud huff. What the hell, it had been the damn door! To make himself feel better he swore out loud, then took off to stalk towards the door with a murderous look in his eyes. He would jam that door shut so tight it would never open again and scare the shit out of people.

But, as it often was, his plan wasn't really a success. Naruto wasn't but three steps away from the door, already reaching to yank it open when it again began opening on its own. It wouldn't have been a problem if it wasn't for the fact that there was no wind anywhere and nothing that could move it, and the blonde froze, the ghost stories immediately running back to his head. His hand went to search for his gun, but before he could freak himself out further a dark-haired head appeared from behind the door, black eyes staring right at him.

"What are you yelling?" Sasuke asked flatly, arching a brow. He didn't look all that interested although when he thought Naruto didn't notice his eyes trailed to the injured shoulder, quickly checking the bandaging before returning to Naruto's face.

Naruto frowned, still feeling stupid for letting the cursed door and a little wind scare him like that. It wasn't funny, really, they were in a place that was said to be haunted by the ghost of a slaughtered child and Sasuke kept running around on his own like this. The raven had better not laugh at him for being a bit jumpy, it just made sense.  
"I wasn't yelling", he answered a bit more sharply than he had intended, but that was it. He didn't want to fight and getting deeper into that would only get them there. He shook his head to dismiss the subject and the wrinkles on his forehead deepened a little as he watched the raven, ignoring the slight aching in his shoulder.  
"What were you doing in there?" He had to bite his lip to keep from adding 'the ghost could've attacked you'.

The distant, detached look remained on Sasuke's face as he watched the other man, taking a moment before giving him an answer.  
"Looking around."

Naruto nodded. Simple enough. They didn't have that much food or anything actually, and while it wasn't likely they found edible food in a place like this, there could've been something else they could use for travelling, perhaps something to sell and get some money. Just thinking about money was making him cringe.  
"Found anything?" he asked as casually as he could, trying to get rid of the uncomfortable feeling inside him. It didn't seem to bother Sasuke the slightest what had happened last night but to Naruto it wasn't that easy to put aside. Just looking at the other man was making his body warm up and he couldn't make it stop. He almost hoped Sasuke would've been angry at him, it would've made it so much easier to be annoyed with the man instead of wanting to touch him all the time.

Sasuke glanced back at the house and his shoulders slumped slightly as though in defeat as he shook his head.  
"No, not really. I'll go look a bit more though. How's the shoulder?" He sounded so disinterested it made the question feel almost like an insult, but Naruto had the feeling it was Sasuke's way of showing concern. The man just wasn't used to it.

That thought made him feel a little better although it did nothing to the warmth in the pit of his stomach and Naruto smiled a bit, glancing away from the other man. It was easier that way.  
"It's alright. Doesn't hurt as much as I thought it would", he said before taking a good look at the house in front of him.  
"Do you... Should I come in too?" Yes, it wasn't quite as scary as it had been last night and he wouldn't be alone, but still...

The look that crossed Sasuke's face was faintly amused and Naruto immediately regretted giving the man a chance to think his herb stuff had really helped. Sometimes the raven's ego really didn't need any stroking. Then Sasuke shook his head and Naruto forgot any complaints he might've head, the relief of not having to go in there flooding over him. He didn't say anything, just nodded and after giving Sasuke a few seconds to say something if there was still anything needing to be said he turned around and headed back to their dead campfire. If Sasuke wanted to go sniffing around for a little longer Naruto could as well start packing. There was no need for them to stay here any longer, and being alone also gave him a chance to think a little.

He had done quite a lot of thinking after Sasuke had practically jumped into his life. He had thought about Sasuke, his behaviour, the reasons behind it, his past, relations to other people, and lately also the man itself as a human being. And with thinking had come the questions. Naruto had so many of them, so many unanswered and some unvoiced questions that he didn't know how to handle them. sometimes he wanted to simply corner Sasuke, force him to talk, hold him down until the man had told him everything, and at times he just wished Sasuke would trust him enough to tell him something. He didn't care what, anything would be fine. The little tidbit about the raven's mother had already made Naruto feel a bit better, more important, but that was about it and he was still needing more.

Why had Sasuke disappeared and run to this ranch on his own? Why did he refuse to talk about his parents? What had that silver-haired man meant when he'd spoken about Sasuke's brother? What did Kakashi know? So many questions and he didn't think he'd ever get an answer if things kept going like they had been doing until now. Sighing, Naruto bent down to roll his blanket and then do the same to Sasuke's. After glancing quickly at the door to make sure the raven wasn't there, he checked the other's blanket for any bloody stains or such just to make sure he hadn't been bleeding during the night. The man hasn't mentioned any injuries but that didn't mean he didn't have any, and Naruto still wasn't sure if his thighs were completely healed. Much to his relief there was nothing, and he had just finished rolling up their makeshift beds when the door to the house opened again and Sasuke stepped outside.

Without as much as a look at Naruto the raven strode across the yard towards the stables and as Naruto watched as he kicked open the door and disappeared into the old building, the angry air around him making the blonde slightly puzzled. Sasuke was acting so weird, he was so jumpy and angry all the time, even more so than he had been when they had first began this journey, and he just wanted the man to relax a little. Perhaps his mood had something to do with the fact that they didn't really have any leads concerning the man they were after, but hey, it wasn't like they were in a hurry to get anywhere. At least he wasn't, as long as they wouldn't run out of money. And that brought up another question, about where the hell Sasuke had dug up the coins to buy himself a horse. Naruto had forgotten to ask before and then so many new questions had risen that he hadn't simply had time for it.

Shrugging, the man kicked some dirt on the ashes and started digging through his saddle bags for food. Early as it was, he was getting hungry, and there was no starting the day without a good meal. Or at least some crackers, his stomach wasn't all that picky. It also made Naruto realize that they really were running out of food supplies and that they would have to go back to Leaf to buy more if they were planning to travel around for longer time again. Sasuke still had to eat as much as possible, he wasn't thin anymore and he was starting to grow stronger and Naruto wasn't about to end that.

But before he had time to even grab a cracker, the doors of the stable slammed open and Rayo jumped backwards, startled from the sudden noise. Naruto of course denied it but he'd jumped a little as well, leaving Whirl as the only one who really didn't care. Out of the doors stalked Sasuke, his hands clenched and the air around him totally different. Even from the distance Naruto could tell that the anger was gone and the way the other man walked held a certain air of determination now as the raven strode towards the horses. His lips were pressed into a thin line and the look on his face was stony and hard, but as the bounty hunter looked closer, there was something resembling excitement in the black eyes.

Sasuke barely stopped in front of the other man, his eyes scanning the area they had been camping at and then he nodded approvingly as he found it empty. He grabbed Rayo's saddle from the ground and gave Naruto a determined look, the coldest smirk the blonde had ever seen twisting his lips softly.  
"I know where he is. Let's go."

TBC


	8. Hallelujah trail

**Warnings:** MxM action, nothing more.  
**Disclaimer:** Characters are property of a certain Masashi Kishimoto, I'm just borrowing them.

**A/N: **Um... I don't even know what to say anymore, I just keep having these ridiculously long breaks for no real reason.  
Okay, I didn't really have the time to write during the summer thanks to work, but... I'll try to get better. Oh, and I tried to reply to all of your reviews so if I missed you by accident, I'm sorry. Hope you enjoy this chapter.

* * *

For Didi

* * *

"...Sasuke?"

No answer.

"Sasuke", he repeated a little louder, still getting nothing but silence in return. It was getting on his nerves already, the whole being ignored thing. He knew Sasuke could hear him, the bastard was standing right next to him, yet he decided to act like Naruto didn't exist at all. He didn't even _look_ at the blonde. Perhaps it had something to do with the cold, hard look on his face that had appeared when he'd strode out of the stables, but Naruto wouldn't let such things bother him. Sasuke couldn't block _everything_out, that just didn't work, and especially not now when Naruto had something really important to say.

So he tried again.

"Hey, bastard."

The only one reacting to his voice that had suddenly gone lower and much more annoyed was Rayo. The mare lifted her head and turned it so that she could stare at the blond-haired man for a moment, a contemplating look in her eye. Then she huffed dismissively and went back to glaring at Sasuke as the man kept saddling her, a little bit too fast to her liking.

A frown crossed Naruto's face and his forehead wrinkled as he lifted a hand and tugged the rim of his hat, pulling it forward. The morning sun was trying to get into his eyes and spirals of dust rose from the dry ground where Rayo kept stepping nervously. The morning was a pretty one but he didn't have the time to appreciate it, he even ignored the questioning look Whirl was giving him. The horse clearly didn't understand why Rayo was getting ready to leave and Naruto just stood there, watching them like he'd lost his tongue.

Finally, shaken from his thoughts by Sasuke slipping his foot into the stirrup and getting up to the saddle, Naruto blinked and reached out to grab Sasuke's leg, shaking it a little. Rayo immediately stepped to the side, not too pleased by such rude behaviour and the way her rider's leg suddenly started shaking on her side, but nothing she did could match the glare Sasuke gave down at the other man, the look on his face clearly indicating he was ready to kick Naruto off if the man didn't let go on his own.

"What?" the raven hissed, impatience bleeding through to his usually so inexpressive voice. It would've been funny, to see him so fidgety, if Naruto hadn't been so afraid of the man running into the sunrise and never coming back if he as much smiled at him, let alone released his leg.

So he decided to go straight into it.  
"We can't leave like that", the bounty hunter blurted out, tightening his hold of Sasuke's calf as Rayo took a few nervous steps more, throwing him irritated looks that were still so weak and pale compared to what Sasuke was giving him.  
"We don't have... nothing."

And when Sasuke just kept glaring at him, Naruto decided to go on now that he had a chance.  
"No money, no food, nothing. We can't just run off and hope for the best!" He tugged his hat again and then ran his fingertips down his cheek to his neck and the scarf that was still there. He didn't bother pulling it up quite yet though, it wasn't like he had to hide things from Sasuke and there was no-one else here to see him...

His head shot up, the sudden movement making the jumpy mare huff and puff in irritation, some of her mood slowly starting to get to Whirl as well. The blue eyes narrowed and Naruto glanced around quickly, his hand sliding lower on Sasuke's leg until he was holding onto the raven's ankle. As he looked up at the pale face again he couldn't help but to wish Sasuke hadn't been mounted; talking up to him like this was more than annoying.

"Where are they?" This time, his voice was a lot stronger, more demanding, and his eyes met the dark ones, the question hanging heavy between them.  
"And who were they?" As the question left his lips, Naruto could feel the tension snapping back to the pale body, even his ankle went tense, and the black eyes turned away from his own in an instant, gazing at the sky and the rising sun.

"Juugo took him to the sheriff. The money will be there for you", Sasuke explained stiffly, feeling clearly uncomfortable again. He was hiding it better than he usually did though, but it wasn't enough for Naruto to turn away just yet.  
"You shot him, you know. "

"I know, you told me", Naruto murmured in return, frowning still. He didn't regret it, he would never regret shooting anyone that threatened Sasuke's life like that, but it didn't mean it didn't bother him. He had always been a bit too soft for a bounty hunter and Kakashi had remembered to poke fun at it all too often.  
"Why did he help us?"

The corners of Sasuke's mouth turned down and he glared at the clouds, still uncomfortable enough to keep his eyes away from Naruto.  
"Can't this wait?" he asked sharply, trying to hold Rayo still as the mare kept stepping nervously.  
"You didn't take my dress, right?"

Naruto had already started to answer negatively to the first question when the second and very unexpected one came and messed up his words. He spluttered something incomprehensible for a moment before he caught his tongue again, and he glared up at Sasuke to make sure the man wasn't laughing at him.  
"I... No, it can't and no, I didn't. And... The dress? What does... Why would I?" he wasn't making much sense, but he had to admit that if Sasuke had asked about the dress just to distract him, it had worked just fine.

Without even a hint of amusement the raven shrugged, the frown still intact on his face.  
"Too bad. Hurry up, idiot. We have to get going."

"I told you bastard, we can't just-"

"To Leaf."

"...oh."

Sometimes Naruto was fairly certain Sasuke just liked messing with his head.

Naruto was slowly starting to get used to the silence around Sasuke. The raven was probably the quietest person he knew, and considering he had worked with people such as Kakashi it was saying a lot. It didn't mean Naruto liked being quiet though, and usually he would've attempted to replace the conversation with a cheery monologue of his own, but this morning was different. The hostility that was oozing from Sasuke in waves didn't really encourage talking and even if aggravating the man was usually an enjoyable experience, Naruto didn't want to end up with a bunch of new bruises covering the side of him Sasuke could reach.

And to be honest, for once he didn't feel like talking either. There was too much on his mind, too many questions still running around in his head and refusing to let him focus on one at the time. Sasuke had been clearly evading his questions about the two men here earlier and that had left Naruto all the more curious. Idly he wondered how Sasuke still hadn't realised that the easiest way to make him shut up was to tell him something, even if it was a lie. Leaving the question hanging was never a good idea.

Despite the funny bubbling curiosity inside him Naruto remained silent until they were back at the inn and in their room. It looked the same as it had when the blonde had dashed out to save Sasuke _again_and a silent sigh of relief escaped the blonde as he looked around. It looked like nothing had been stolen, and even though they hadn't left anything too important behind he still liked knowing that all his belongings were safe.

With an unreadable look on his face Naruto watched as the older man moved across the room towards the sack in which his dress was. A look that was almost paranoid crossed Sasuke's face as he glanced at the door before he sat down on a bed with the sack and pulled the dress out, starting to examine it with careful fingers.

Naruto frowned in confusion, trying to push away the mental images brought up by seeing the dress that he hadn't realized still haunted him, and stepped closer, trying to take a better look at the dress.  
"What are you doing?" he asked, the confusion echoing in his voice. There had to be something extremely special in that dress if it had been powerful enough to make Sasuke return to the town, and he didn't really think it was sentimental value.

For a while Sasuke didn't reply, his eyes glued to the dress as he turned it around and lifted the hem up. He didn't seem to have heard the question and he didn't pay attention to Naruto as the blonde slowly inched closer to him and finally sat on the bed as well, keeping a safe distance. His cheek was still feeling a bit weird after the punches pulled last night and the gunshot wound ached a little but his curiosity was overshadowing the pain easily.

"What are you doing?" the bounty hunter repeated the question, a bit louder, and this time Sasuke glanced at him right before he yanked the hem roughly, causing the seam to tear up. Naruto's eyes widened a little from surprise before the frown came back, his eyes moving from the dress to Sasuke.  
"What-"

"Look", he raven interrupted flatly and pulled the seam open even more until it was easy to see between the layers of fabric.

A surprised noise escaped Naruto's lips as he leaned closer, staring at the dress, and suddenly he understood exactly why Sasuke hadn't wanted to leave it behind. There, carefully sewn to the lining of the hem, were rows of bank notes of different values. Some were a little bit torn, many were wrinkled and looked used, but it was money nevertheless, and even though he didn't have the time to count Naruto could tell that it was a lot. Slowly he tore his eyes away from the revealed fortune, turning to look at Sasuke instead, and the lines on his forehead just deepened as he met the cold eyes.

"Wow." That was all the man could think of, his mind hitting blank for a moment. And then...  
"Why didn't you tell me?"

Sasuke shrugged softly and leaned down to pull a tiny knife out of his boot.  
"Would you have?" he asked in return, starting to gently sever a few notes from the fabric.  
"You could've just taken the money and run away."

Naruto opened his mouth to protest but before a single word passed his lips the truth in Sasuke's statement caught up to him and he fell silent, watching the slender fingers work on the money. The other man was right about that. After all, he was a bounty hunter, and even though he had left with Sasuke who had said it had been because of anything but money? He knew men who would have done just that, ran away with the dress and left Sasuke without hesitation to the prairie with nothing but his horse and the clothes he wore, and he really couldn't blame Sasuke for not trusting him right away. It was just wise of him, to keep the money a secret.

And as he thought that, a funny warmth surfaced inside Naruto as he realized another thing. Sasuke trusted him now, at least enough to tell him about the dress. For some reason the realization made the man want to either jump up and dance a little or pull Sasuke to a hug and laugh, but he had a feeling neither would be appreciated. So, instead he just smiled and, feeling brave, reached to pat the raven's arm quickly. In return he got a suspicious glare from the other man but he could also locate a hint of surprise in the dark eyes as Sasuke noticed the smile.

Naruto pulled back his hand before nothing else happened and then got up, stretching a little. Suddenly he felt a lot better, more at ease with the situation, and he turned to face the window, letting the sunlight warm his skin. He closed his eyes, listening to the rustle of the fabric and the sounds of Sasuke breathing, waiting until he heard the distinguish sounds of the dress being packed away. That was when he turned back to the other man, still smiling.

"Let's go shopping. We need some food and other things, and then we can go." Unexpected excitement pinched his insides and the bounty hunter's smile slipped into a bit tighter, sly grin. He was ready for a good hunt, and this time it wouldn't be just him.

"_O bury me not on the lone prairie, where coyotes howl and the wind blows free, in a narrow grave just six by three, o bury me not on the lone prairie!_" Naruto's husky voice was a bit too cheerful as he sang, sitting on the saddle with a small smile on his lips, the reins in one hand and his posture the one of a man that had nothing to worry about. His hat was pushed back and he had dropped the scarf from his face, wild freckles spotting his nose and the stubble grown a bit out of control already. He looked so completely comfortable it was almost ridiculous, and yet Sasuke couldn't keep his eyes away from the man.

He found himself practically staring at Naruto, the familiar flat look on his face as he kept himself from looking too interested. The raven had to admire the way the blonde carried himself, looking like he had been practically born to the saddle. They were trailing Black Weasel and still the man could be so carefree and relaxed. It wasn't even as annoying as Sasuke had expected because even though Naruto was like that, he knew the man wasn't taking their little trip too lightly. That wasn't it, oh no.

"_It matters not, I've been told, where the body lies when the heart grows cold._.."

But being as he was, Sasuke couldn't let Naruto's apparent cheerfulness pass just like that.  
"Stop singing it like that", he snapped although the usual edge was gone from his voice, a faint smirk on his lips as he glanced at Naruto.

"_Yet grant, o grant, this wish to_- what?" Shaking his head, Naruto turned to look back at the source of the disruptive noise, wrinkling his nose a little.  
"What's wrong with my singing, pray tell?" he asked goodnaturedly, the frown being an odd match to the ridiculously innocent smile the blonde wore as he watched Sasuke with his amused, bright eyes.

Sasuke scoffed and rolled his eyes a little, patting Rayo quickly as the mare huffed as well. There was no need for her to get cranky.  
"You shouldn't sound so happy about it", he complained with a frown, running his fingers through the mare's mane. He was slowly getting more comfortable with Rayo and learning to read the horse a bit better so he wasn't taken by surprise every time she threw some kind of a fit.  
"It's not a happy song, you shouldn't take it so lightly."

The incredulous look Naruto threw at his direction was almost amusing.  
"What?" he asked, frowning as he stared at Sasuke like he had grown a second head.  
"What does that have to do with anything?"

The bounty hunter clearly had no idea what Sasuke had been talking about, and the raven sighed, shifting a bit on the saddle.  
"I said, you shouldn't sing such songs like they were children's jingles", he repeated, now slightly annoyed by Naruto's attitude. He of course refused to admit that he was making a bit too big a deal about it, it was just a song after all and Naruto was just the type of an idiot to make fun of death.

"But no-one cares, Sasuke! Whoever wrote that song is not going to come after me and hunt me down for singing his song wrong!" Naruto protested predictably, snatching his harmonica from a pocket somewhere.  
"And besides, it's so boring to sing otherwise. Listen!" And the screechy sound of a harmonica pierced the air, carrying a melody that started off as slow and quite mournful, but after the first ten notes or so it started to grow and wind, just like it had done when sung by Naruto.

In a little moment Sasuke could've sworn it wasn't even the same song anymore; what Naruto was playing sounded more like a drinking song from a saloon than a slow ballad about the prairie. He did find it interesting how easily the transition happened, how smoothly Naruto managed to create something so lively out of a song of that nature, but after a while he had to wave the blonde to stop, if only for the reason Rayo wasn't enjoying the music as much as the two men (and Whirl).  
"That's enough, yacko", he hushed and waved his hand in the air to get Naruto's attention. At times like this the blonde tended to get a bit too caught up in playing; he didn't really pay attention even to his horse. Whirl was just slogging forward on his own and Naruto trusted the animal enough to allow it.

"See?" the blonde asked cheerfully after putting away the harmonica, dusting his hands to his pants with a smile.  
"It can be played like that just fine!"

"Don't jinx it, addle-head. If you keep that up you'll end up buried somewhere around here", Sasuke snapped back, not all that annoyed at the moment. Naruto was just being his usual foolish self but it didn't make it any better.

"Oh, aren't you sweet? For someone not the slightest bit afraid of the Uchiha ghost you're awfully superstitious!" Naruto gave right back with a chuckle, either ignoring or not noticing the way the raven tensed briefly at the mention of the dead family.  
"But you know, when I am buzzard food, I don't think I really care where I lay. The prairie would be better than many other places..."

Sasuke nodded, more to show that he was listening than to agree with the other man. Now that Naruto wasn't singing anymore he had turned to look forward again, gazing at the direction of the mountains that rose in front of them.

"I mean, I wouldn't mind a coyote or two pissing on my grave if the other choice is getting a fancy speech from a gospel sharp and roses on my grave from people I never knew. At least there would be a chance I had seen those coyotes somewhere", Naruto explained nonchalantly, smiling softly.

When Sasuke turned to him looking like he might be about to argue something the blonde raised a hand and waved him off.  
"You see, I don't care so much about people, I wouldn't be doing this job if I did. There aren't many people to mourn for me anyway and I always thought it would be better to go in silence. I'll probably end up beefed by some nasty fellows anyway and they won't bother burying me so it doesn't really matter." Then the man chuckled, waving his hand again.  
"But hey, don't think you'll get rid of me anytime soon! I'm planning to stay above the snakes for a good while still."

Not sure what to say to that, Sasuke went quiet again, keeping his eyes on Rayo's neck as he thought about Naruto's words. Or at least the blonde thought he did, glancing at Sasuke, and then his eyes turned to the sky. It would probably be the best if they found a place to put up a camp sometime soon, the shadows were becoming longer and soon it would be dark and no-one liked setting up anything in the darkness.

Against Naruto's expectations, the raven didn't say anything more about the death thing, and after a little while he started singing again, still sounding just as cheerful about it as he had before. He really saw it like that and death was part of his everyday life anyway so he wasn't too bothered about the topic at all. Sasuke, on the other hand, looked a little bit uncomfortable and Naruto figured it was the best to leave him to his own for now. He didn't know how used to the raven was to seeing death around him but knowing that he had been living with Rattlesnake and had even killed the man Sasuke couldn't be all that naive.

Either way, Naruto pulled Whirl to a stop quite soon, glancing at the sky. The sun was setting slowly but there was a lot of clouds and that was already making the temperature drop. They had been riding three days after the episode at the mansion and the weather had slowly been turning to worse, also dragging down the bounty hunter's mood. Sasuke had become even more silent and closed-up than he'd been before meeting Orochimaru's men, it was hard to get two words in a row out of him so the little conversation they'd had about death was a small miracle of its own, and the blonde really didn't know what to do about it.

There was still lots and lots of questions on his mind but he was trying not to think about them because the more he did, the more confused he got. He was sure it was right there, the answers were almost floating around in the air around his head yet he couldn't grasp them no matter how hard he tried. He had decided to stop trying, hoping that it would attract the answers to him like moths to flame. So far he hadn't had any luck but Naruto was a positive person and he didn't believe in pushing things when they didn't want to be pushed. He would get it, with time.

The silence hung upon them as they set up a quick camp, starting with making the horses comfortable and then moving on to the fire and cooking. Naruto was stirring a makeshift soup, yawning a little as he kept his eyes on the other man. Sasuke was brushing Rayo, and as usually the mare was trying to protest. She was stepping away from the raven, swishing around with her tail every time the man went close enough to her behind and even tried to bite him a few times. Or at least pretended to be biting because even though there had been a few clear chances for sinking her teeth to human meat, Rayo had barely touched the man with her muzzle.

The sight was quite endearing, actually. In some ways Sasuke and his horse were so much alike it was making Naruto think that had the raven been a horse, he would've been exactly like Rayo. A bit tricky to handle but when you paid him some attention and had patience he eventually became a bit nicer and just tried to act mean and scary. Rayo wasn't that bad. If you cut out her tough guy act she was quite a nice horse in the end. Nothing to top Whirl though, she didn't even come close, but there was nothing in the world that could top Whirl in Naruto's books.

Pouring the stew to two cups, Naruto sighed and leaned back, watching Sasuke for a little while from the corner of his eye. When the man thought the blonde wasn't watching he got almost surprisingly affectionate with the horse, and while smiling slyly to behind his scarf Naruto cleared his throat, turning to the raven.  
"The dinner's ready, ladybird", he announced relaxedly, earning just a slightly annoyed glare from the older man.

Sasuke sat down and grabbed his cup, starting to sip down the hot stew.  
"Not bad", he commented distractedly, and when Naruto looked up from his cup in surprise, he found the raven watching the mountains with an almost torn look on his face. He was trying to hide it, sure, but there was something in his eyes or the way the corners of his mouth were twisted down a bit more than normally or how his neck looked tense that told Naruto he wasn't just randomly watching them.

Those mountains were where they had been heading to since they had left the haunted ranch, and now the sun was painting them beautiful red and golden. Soon it would be dark and Naruto sighed, swallowing more of the stew as he played the words on his tongue, wondering if he should let them out. It was just a simple question, but with Sasuke, nothing was simple. And then the raven closed his eyes for a few seconds, exhaling slowly, and Naruto made his decision. He had been three days without questions and it really had to stop.  
"Where are we going?" he asked softly, watching Whirl wander around eating the prairie grass. Getting closer to the mountains was sure making the grass greener and apparently juicier too, if the horses' appetite was any proof.

He could feel Sasuke's eyes on him and after a little while he glanced back at the raven, arching his brows. Naruto was fairly sure the action made him look more curious than slightly arrogant which was what happened to Sasuke when he did that. Now the look on the raven's face was hard and empty, not giving out anything as he turned away again, directing his eyes on the mountains. But this time he wasn't looking at the highest peaks like he'd done before, but the oddly shaped cliffs a bit left of a sharp peak people called just 'Beak' around here.

"To those cliffs", Sasuke offered finally, his voice quiet and solemn as he put down his empty cup and sighed.

Naruto followed his gaze, spotting the said cliffs immediately. They looked almost like bull horns, rising up and leaving a small cove between them. They had been visible to the farm as well, probably because they really were close to the mountains already, and a small frown crossed the blonde's face.  
"Why?" he asked in confusion, watching the shadows grow longer and darker. In a few minutes it would be dark outside the little circle of light the fire was providing them.

"He's there." Sasuke's answer was short and confident but he didn't seem to be on the defensive mode yet. In fact, he seemed more comfortable than he had in a long while if you counted out the fact that he wasn't exactly present.

That, however, didn't help Naruto's curiosity at all. His brows knit together as he turned away from the darkening mountains to watch Sasuke, the fire creating playful shadows to his face.  
"How do you know?" he asked, now a bit more demandingly than before. Much to his delight, Sasuke didn't seem to care. For the first time in a long long while, the raven felt like a real grown-up and not like a prissy young girl.

Still gazing at the mountains, Sasuke shrugged softly, his mind clearly somewhere else.  
"He told me", he answered simply, not even noticing how the blue eyes widened and gave him a look that doubted his sanity.

"What?" Naruto asked sharply, not really knowing what else to say. That was... not expected.

Sasuke nodded like what he had just said hadn't been the most ridiculous thing he had never let out of his mouth at least at Naruto's hearing range.  
"He left me a message in the barn", the man explained distractedly, his brows furrowing a little as he closed his eyes as though trying to recall something. When he opened them again, he turned to look at Naruto, his gaze cold and determined.  
"I think he knew I was around and put it in a place he knew I'd find it..."

Naruto blinked, unable to look away from the unexplainable dark eyes. He could almost see the moths circling closer and closer and this time he was tempted to try and catch them, just because this was getting unbearable. Sasuke was giving him hints, obvious ones at that yet he was unable to connect the dots like the raven seemed to be expecting him to. For once the man wasn't running away from Naruto and the bounty hunter wasn't making out the connection he should just get...  
"Why the ranch?" he almost whispered, his eyes squinted as he tried to get through the stupid haze hiding the answers from him.

The raven gave him a long look, something almost like disappointment flashing in his eyes before he sighed and looked away again, the mountains now only a dark silhouette against the quickly darkening sky. It was turning into a full night now.  
"When I was young", he started solemnly, his face hidden behind his hair and the almost black shadows playing on his features.  
"We used to sit outside and watch the mountains. The horn canyon, that little thing between the cliffs, was something I kept asking him about over and over again, and then finally he promised he'd take me there when I was old enough."

"But-"

"He never told me what old enough was though, it was always just promises", Sasuke went on as though he had never been interrupted. His eyes were cold and empty and there was lingering bitterness in his voice as he stared at the fire, his fingers curled around his other wrist.  
"But back then I didn't think it would be smart to leave alone, just the two of us. There are lots of dangerous things out here."

Naruto shook his head, closing his eyes. It was right there, so close, yet he couldn't...

"I guess it makes sense that he left the sign there... I suppose he feels like I'm old enough now."

And that was it. The blue eyes flashed open as everything came together in Naruto's mind.  
"You're him", he whispered, sounding just as stunned as he looked. It all made sense now, everything was suddenly explained and the blonde could do nothing but blink and stare at the other man as the pieces clicked together, forming the larger picture he'd been missing the whole time.

This time, instead of keeping on talking, Sasuke closed his mouth and kept his eyes on the fire, throwing in a couple of small branches to keep the fire going while Naruto digested the information, trying to wrap his mind around the realization that had just dawned on him. He felt dumber than ever, now that he knew the truth everything made perfect sense to him, all the little hints and the cold words from that silver-haired man in the ranch and the vendetta itself... It had been there all the time and he had just failed to see it.

"I'm surprised it took you so long to realize", the raven murmured with the same blank voice that had been there for a while.  
"For someone so skilled you can be awfully stupid at times."

Naruto opened his mouth to argue but shut it almost immediately, knowing that this time Sasuke was perfectly right. And besides, that had been sort of a compliment as well but now he didn't have the time to get too deep into that as his mind kept demanding answers for all the questions the revelation had brought up. Frowning, the blonde pushed himself up to his knees and crawled closer to Sasuke, keeping just enough distance to make sure the raven wouldn't get so uncomfortable he'd close up again. This time, though, Sasuke didn't seem to mind. He just gazed into the fire, totally ignoring Naruto's presence for now, the stew cup in his hand almost untouched.

"He killed them all, right? Your family? And then took you and sold you to Rattlesnake and that's why you're after him, right?" The bounty hunter asked, his voice low as he leaned even closer to Sasuke, for once not letting himself get distracted by the shadows dancing on the beautiful face in front of him. His eyes narrowed as he tried to catch Sasuke's but the raven was staring straight at the fire, making sure not to look at Naruto. Or it was more like he didn't need to look at Naruto, there was nothing he had to see there so he stayed where he was, staring down at the flames with that unreadable, hard look on his face.

"Why would he do that?" the blonde whispered, trying to understand but failing miserably. What kind of a man would go crazy enough to kill his own family and sell his brother to someone like Rattlesnake, or to anyone actually? He just didn't get it and he wasn't sure if he even wanted to, but at least now he understood why Sasuke was so pressed on going after Black Weasel.

Without a warning Sasuke placed down his cup and stood up, glancing once more at the fire before rolling his shoulders and stretching a little.  
"I'm going to sleep", he informed the other man flatly, heading over to his bags and taking out his bed roll.

"H-hey!" Naruto was left gaping at him, his mouth open and closing again. There had been a good nice mood for them to talk a bit and Sasuke had finally been opening up a little and now the man was gone again, fuzzing with his bed on the other side of the fire.  
"Don't you dare... Answer my question!" The blonde scrambled up, rushing to catch Sasuke before the man lay down because then it would've been just weird. He caught the raven by the arm and pulled him to a stop, ending up a bit closer to the other man than he'd intended.

For a moment it was quiet, just the bugs buzzing in the night and the quiet thuds of the horses taking a step or two at a time broke the silence as they stood there, Naruto grasping Sasuke's arm while the raven just looked away, the darkness hiding his face from the view. Then the thinner man spoke without looking at Naruto, his low voice melting perfectly into the night.  
"I said I'm going to sleep."

It was clear order to let go, to drop the subject, but Naruto refused to have any of that, his hold of the other's arm tightening a bit. He couldn't help noticing how much healthier Sasuke was now than he'd been when they had first met. The raven was no longer the skinny poor creature he'd seen the first time but he'd started to grow some muscles and get real strength to his body, a change that Naruto welcomed with open arms. In the beginning he had been really scared for the raven, he hadn't been sure the man would make it being so weak but he had.

Then, shaking himself out of his thoughts Naruto tugged at the raven's arm and pulled him just a little closer to emphasize his point.  
"And I said, answer me", he answered with an equally low voice, hoping that this wouldn't end in another fight, he really didn't feel like arguing now. The mood wasn't right for arguments either but now that he'd gotten Sasuke to talk Naruto hoped he could squeeze something more out of him. If there was something as deep as sibling connection between Sasuke and his target it might make the mission much more dangerous for both of them.

Again the raven stayed quiet for a little while, his shoulders tensing as he bowed his head a little more as though preparing to argue over it, his body language speaking clearly of rejection. After a few seconds, however, his shoulders slumped and he turned to look at Naruto, the fire reflecting in the dark eyes and emphasizing how empty and dull they were. The look on his face spoke volumes of exhaustion and desire to sleep and even the playful light couldn't hide the dark shadows under his eyes.  
"I'll tell you tomorrow. I want to sleep now."

Left speechless, Naruto stared into the deep eyes, trying not to be affected by the serious, almost pleading tone in Sasuke's voice. He had stood up swearing he wouldn't let go until he had received his answers yet here he was, already thinking he'd made the wrong decision. And besides, tomorrow would be fine, right? He didn't really feel like making Sasuke talk when the raven looked like that, he couldn't remember seeing the man so tired in a long long while and right now... Naruto felt his fingers slowly letting go of Sasuke's arm and slipping away, his arm hanging useless by his side.

With the smallest nod the raven turned around, his shoulders rising and falling with a soft sigh, and under Naruto's almost confused gaze he stripped off most of his clothing except the dark union suit that the raven utterly hated. The bounty hunter was actually quite surprised that the other man had kept that article of clothing for that long but as far as he knew Sasuke wore something else under that, something like lace knickers or so because he hadn't had time to buy anything more manly. Or so Naruto at least had decided in his little head because in some twisted way the thought wasn't all that unpleasant to him.

He watched Sasuke lie down on the blanket and pull another one on the top of himself, and only when the raven was settled comfortably Naruto turned away to fiddle with the fire. It would be a chilly night and he wanted to keep the fire going as long as possible, even if thnding to it meant he wouldn't be sleeping much. He could always doze off a bit tomorrow when riding, he trusted Sasuke enough to take care of things and get him awake if they got themselves into a bad situation. The blonde sat on the ground again, crossing his legs and staring at the fire with a drawn expression, giving Sasuke quick glances every now and then. Everything was fine, right? Nothing had changed, at least shouldn't have... Yet somehow, as Naruto watched the sleeping man, he couldn't help but to feel something warm and funny crawling around inside his chest, something that definitely hadn't been there before with the raven or anyone else for the matter. Or maybe it had and he just hadn't noticed it before, but right now he was feeling pretty helpless with all that. Dealing with emotions wasn't his strongest point and really, getting this attached to someone who was going after Black Weasel? That wasn't very smart at all.

Sighing, Naruto threw another stick to the fire and pulled his knees to his chest, resting his chin on his knees and wincing as the wound in his shoulder protested. What a mess he'd gotten himself into.

The next two days went by as though in some kind of haze for Naruto, or actually for both of them. They stayed silent while riding and mostly silent during the breaks as well, the only words exchanged were about the travelling itself, food and water and horses and the distance they still had to cover to get to Beak. It was just light, casual conversation and even Naruto didn't feel like forcing it. Sometimes, when the sun had gone down, Sasuke started talking on his own, letting out tiny tidbits about how his life had been back then, in the ranch with his parents and brother and how everything had changed when he'd been thrown to the Lair to live as Rattlesnake's little pet.

But as interesting as it all was, Naruto couldn't shake off the feeling that there was something more to it, something Sasuke wasn't telling him. Not that it was anything new, he often felt like that when he was around the raven, but this time it was different. It wasn't like Sasuke was trying to keep a secret from him but more like there was something he was missing again. The blonde couldn't for the life of him figure out what it was but that something seemed to be the reason why Sasuke was talking to him like this. It was like an aura looming around the man, making everything he did seem like there was a greater purpose behind it all. Naruto wasn't sure if he was just imagining it all but he didn't think he was, yet it wasn't something you'd just straight away ask someone about so he kept quiet, hoping that as long as he didn't say anything Sasuke would keep talking.

And he did, for two days. But as the third night fell and the fire was dying out, Sasuke still hadn't said a word. Instead of talking he got up after eating and changing Naruto's bandage and headed over to his bed roll again, leaving Naruto to take care of getting the fire out and so on as usually. The bounty hunter didn't mind it much, he was used to Sasuke leaving all the work for him, and he whistled softly as he gathered their used dishes and kicked some soil on ashes to make sure they wouldn't start a prairie fire or something. After their little camp looked like it had never been there Naruto headed to his own bed that had already been laid out to the ground, kicking off his boots and dropping his vest to the ground next to his bed. It was chilly after all so he didn't bother stripping anything more, not wanting to freeze to death, and so he slipped between the covers, curling up immediately.

He didn't really have the time to fall asleep though, and it wasn't like his body was willing to sleep either. His eyes just wouldn't fall shut and soon enough Naruto found himself staring at Sasuke's neck, the pale stripe of skin gleaming oddly in the moonlight where it was visible from under the dark tufts of hair. The raven was breathing slowly, his posture as relaxed as it ever got and for once Naruto had the feeling the other man was actually asleep and not faking it. It was almost surprising, he would've thought now was the time for Sasuke to be nervous and awake if ever. They were only one day's ride away from Beak and then the two brothers would be united... Or so Sasuke seemed to believe at least. The bounty hunter hadn't even dared to consider the possibility of their target not being where he was supposed to be.

A chilly gust of wind blew over the open prairie, making Naruto shiver and curl up tighter. It only seemed to ruffle Sasuke's hair a bit, but after a few seconds the raven let out a soft puff and shifted a little. It had gotten a lot colder lately and the winter was clearly coming, that being something the blonde wasn't really looking forward to. Cold meant that it would get harder and harder for him to keep moving around freely like he'd done until now, and he knew for sure that Sasuke wouldn't be able to stand the winters at the prairie. Naruto himself was quite the opposite, not enjoying the thought of having to stay inside for the whole winder appealing at all, but he refused to think about it now. If he let himself do that, he'd end up wondering whether or not he'd have to split up with the other man and just the possibility made him anxious.

Naruto blinked and squinted his eyes in the moonlight, focusing on Sasuke's neck again. For a moment it had looked like the man had moved again and as usually it had Naruto on guard immediately; they were so close now, he couldn't allow the raven to pull any weird leaving alone stunts in the middle of the night. But nothing happened and he relaxed again, trying to get himself to the state of mind required to sleeping. He rolled over to his other side, kicked his legs straight, then curled up again before turning to lie on his stomach, his shoulder aching just a bit more every time he moved. Yet nothing helped. He was still wide awake after almost an hour and again, staring at Sasuke.

Under Naruto's tired, alert eyes, the raven shifted again, a shiver running through him as he muttered something in his sleep. Immediately guilt struck through the bounty hunter, his gaze trailing guiltily down to his own blanket. It wasn't like he was too warm or anything but he was way more used to this and he had been sleeping too heavily the last few nights to notice that Sasuke was actually cold enough to start shivering.

The night air was cold, raising goosebumps all over Naruto's arms despite the shirt he was wearing as he slowly pushed himself up, dragging his blanket with him the few steps it took to get to Sasuke. There he stood for a moment, gazing down upon the man and hoping he wasn't being a total idiot for doing this but not really knowing what else to do either. giving up his own blanket would just get him sick, it was too cold for him too to sleep without one. And with a determined look on his face the blonde knelt down, lifting the corner of Sasuke's blanket and crawling partly under it before spreading his own one over both of them. Then, with a content sigh, he slid down, burying his face to Sasuke's neck.

"Don't mind me", he murmured quietly, not wanting to stir the other man if he really was asleep but not wanting to spook him either.  
"'m just keeping us warm."

When Sasuke didn't respond, Naruto chose to take it as a sign to move on. Slowly he pressed against the raven's back, wrapping his arm around the man's chest and pulling him as close as he could, his nose buried in the raven hair. Sasuke smelled like dirt and blood and sweat mostly, but it wasn't like Naruto minded any of those; he was used to it. And in it's own way it was comforting too, to have those familiar scents lingering in his nose as he sighed, his breath making the hair on Sasuke's neck shift a little. It was already a lot warmer, the shared body heat making him relax against the other man's body as he finally closed his eyes, smiling softly as he drifted to sleep.

Maybe an hour or two later, he couldn't really tell, Naruto was startled awake by sudden movement of the body next to him. He pried his eyes open, wondering why he had fallen asleep so close to a haystack for a moment before he realized it was actually hair that tickled his nose and tried to get into his eyes. Huffing a little he blinked, momentarily tightening his hold of the warm body he was curled around, and even as the memories slowly came back he didn't let go. His position was just too comfortable and he was too damn warm at the moment to start moving and possibly letting some of the cold air in under the blankets.

"Don't worry", the blonde whispered out of reflex as the raven let out a low sound, making it seem like he was starting to wake up slowly. The slight shifting stopped and Sasuke lay still for a while, too still to be asleep so Naruto knew he was aware enough of his surroundings to listen to him. The positive thing about this was that Sasuke hadn't tried to push him away or hit him yet and the bounty hunter was hoping they could remain like this for the rest of the night. It was just too comfortable, warmth being rare and treasured luxury out on the plains.

"I'm just keeping us both warm", the man explained, his lips close to Sasuke's ear now. Perhaps keeping them warm was a bit dull way to put it, he was curled around the other man like a horrible leech of some sort, his arm around the raven's chest pulling his fairly tightly against Naruto's own and his legs were tangled with Sasuke's. The blankets still covered them from toes to chins so they hadn't really moved after Naruto had crawled in, but it wasn't like rolling around ever got you more comfortable anyway.

Sasuke was still for a while before slowly nodding his head a little bit, his hair again brushing against Naruto's nose in a ticklish manner. A funny burst of drowsy happiness bubbled up somewhere inside the bounty hunter at that; knowing that he was allowed to hold Sasuke like this, even if only for the warmth, it was almost too much to keep inside. Without really thinking about it he started rubbing the raven's stomach through the union suit with his fingertips, smiling against Sasuke's ear. It was pretty innocent of course, almost the same as petting an animal, but it still made the other man tense for a second. Before long he relaxed again though and sighed, making Naruto smile again with the way he pressed a bit tighter against the younger man.

What made the smile freeze on his face though was the way Sasuke's hand suddenly covered his, stopping the movement of his fingers for a while. Afraid of messing up somehow Naruto stayed completely still, waiting for Sasuke to tell him to back off. But instead of doing that the man just flattened his palm, spreading Naruto's fingers as well before lacing them together with his own. It was a small but oddly intimate gesture and Naruto found himself swallowing around something funny in his throat. Damn, the raven was catching him completely off guard tonight, being more relaxed than the blonde probably had ever seen him. Or so he thought at least, it was probably the easiest to tell now that he was actually so close to Sasuke.

Shifting a bit, Naruto fumbled around until he could run his free hand's fingers through Sasuke's hair, still amazed by how soft it was. then, without a warning, the raven moved, slowly rolling over and forcing Naruto to pull back a little, his hands resting on the blanket underneath them. He kept his head down, waiting for Sasuke to get comfortable again as the man now lay facing him, the completely black eyes still sleepy as they focused on him, watching him in the silent night.

Slowly, the softest of smiles pulled the corners of Naruto's lips and he reached forward again, brushing his fingers against the other man's cheek, easily ignoring the aching in his shoulder. Sasuke's skin was glowing softly in the pale moonlight, giving him an almost ghostly appearance for a moment. It passed quickly as larger fragments of clouds drifted in front of it to cover it up, leaving the prairie in an almost complete darkness. Still smiling, Naruto buried his fingers in the black hair, and much to his surprise the other man returned his gesture, scooting closer. The blue eyes threatened to flutter shut as the tender fingers stroked the back of his neck, absently sliding over an old scar there before threading through the hay-colored hair, leaving the bounty hunter just confused when they finally stopped, staying where they were.

Naruto didn't understand what was going on and why Sasuke was suddenly being so tender and sweet but he sure as hell wasn't complaining, and then he didn't really have time to think about it at all as the other man inched even closer, bringing his forehead against Naruto's and resting his hand on the blonde's hip, slowly stroking the rough fabric.

The kiss was slow and experimenting, nothing like the angry battles before, but just because it was so different it left Naruto yearning for more the second he pulled back to look at Sasuke again. The dark eyes were almost invisible in the darkness, it was only because of their close proximity that he was able to make them out at all. He couldn't figure out the look on the man's face at all but he didn't mind, liking the fact that he could only _feel_now. somehow it felt very fitting, and he sighed contently as Sasuke's fingers started moving on the back of his head again, combing his hair gently. Leaning in for another kiss, Naruto pressed his lips on Sasuke's, parting them immediately to push his tongue out and run it along the raven's bottom lip. The other man waited a little before granting the access but as he did, it was clearly an invitation and not just another way to humor Naruto.

Their tongues tangled together, first slow and experimenting but getting the hold of it quite fast while Naruto carefully ran his hand down Sasuke's back, the raven's fingers curling around the back of his neck and keeping him there as the kisses started to get more heated, their bodies again pressing together but with a different purpose now. They weren't just trying to keep warm anymore, no, it was the urge to get closer that drew them to each other.

A soft groan was muffled by their kiss as Naruto's hand took a more aggressive manner and slid down to the other man's behind, forcing their hips together as well. The lack of direct skin to skin contact was starting to get to him and reluctantly he broke the kiss, giving Sasuke's slightly flushed face and swollen lips a quick look that broke his resolve and made him dive straight back in for another slow, intense kiss that drew a soft moan from the raven. The older man reached out, silently demanding Naruto to hold him closer as he grabbed the front of Naruto's shirt, his eyes shutting as he started to undo the buttons of both the shirt and the union suit, his hands slipping in as soon as he got them all done, sliding over the blonde's shoulders to pull the annoying pieces of clothing off.

The blankets shifted on top of them, letting a flush of cold air under them. The freezing breeze brushed against Naruto's shoulders, happily greeting the hot skin and pressing against it, making the man shudder. He didn't dare to say anything though and Sasuke didn't' seem to notice either, fiddling with the union suit to get it over and done with. Soon enough he had it pulled to Naruto's waist and the blonde didn't really have the time to think about cold anymore as the slender hands started moving on his upper body, caressing his skin. He drew in a sharp breath as those fingers brushed against a nipple, staying there for a moment and then letting go, moving to undo Sasuke's own buttons.

Letting out an unsatisfied huff, Naruto ran his fingers through the ink black locks, trying to pull the raven closer but he refused to move, working on the buttons of his union suit. The blonde couldn't keep his hands away for long though; as soon as enough buttons were undone he took the liberty to rid Sasuke of the clothing, pulling it down to his hips but not really daring to go further. He heard a small, relaxed sigh and smiled a little, taking pleasure in the fact that Sasuke seemed to be enjoying himself as much as he did, at least almost so. What he wasn't so sure he enjoyed was how they seemed to be going so slow. Although Naruto had always had the tendency to try and make it nice for the girl too, to make it slow and sensual and just overall enjoyable instead of just a quick roll in the hay (which was nice too, but not in all occasions), keeping it at that with Sasuke was proving to be extra difficult. It wasn't that he didn't want it to be slow with Sasuke or anything but his body didn't like that option at all.

The sleepy haze that had still lingered there was starting to slowly disappear as Naruto refused to give Sasuke another chance to back down, pulling him into a rougher embrace and kissing him again. Their kisses were starting to get more and more heated, the urge to get closer emphasized with the small gasp the blonde let out as their chests touched and their groins pressed together. Allowing himself that one weakness Naruto let himself slowly grind against Sasuke, immediately rewarded with a small gasp and he smiled at the noise, finding it totally intoxicating and leaving him wanting more. Desperate to get what he wanted, the blonde kept moving his hips, his arousal pressing against the rough fabric of his underwear and he shuddered, trying to ignore the blankets shifting and moving until half of his back was uncovered.

Then it didn't really matter anymore. Sasuke's hands were touching him, stroking his skin and hair and running down his back, rubbing his nipples and getting lower and lower, always stopping at the hoarse curls that trailed down from Naruto's belly button, disappearing under the last part of the damned union suit. The blonde could feel the other man stroking them and once Sasuke even experimentally tugged at them, making the bounty hunter twitch and hiss. That was no place to go yanking anything.

The kisses had been left aside for now as the raven kept his hand on Naruto's skin, following the trail with his fingertips and finally dipping them underneath the fabrics. His fingers brushed against the base of the blonde's cock and Naruto drew in a sharp breath, his hips automatically thrusting forward to get more. That couldn't really be even called a proper touch and he was craving for more, needing to be touched by no-one other than Sasuke.

The moon shone softly on the sky, partly illuminating the two dark figures underneath the blankets that were all grumbled on the top of them, the animals of the night hiding any noise the couple might've been making. The covers hid them from the eyes of the world, making it look a bit odd for anyone who could've been watching as the younger of the men suddenly chuckled, his eyes narrowing to the point of being almost closed, and then muttered something, the words slurred and unclear.

The sound had an immediate effect on the dark-haired man. His hand froze where it was, his fingertips again on the blonde curls just beneath the union suit, and he looked up at Naruto, a small frown on his face. He didn't look angry though, just curious, and he didn't withdraw his hand from where it was, giving Naruto a few seconds to start explaining that unexpected expression of happiness and content.

The blonde shook his head slowly, finally looking into Sasuke's eyes again and smiling soothingly, not wanting the man to think he was laughing at _him_ when there was absolutely nothing about the raven that he would've wanted to laugh at right now. Grabbing Sasuke's behind with one hand, Naruto pulled him closer, running his other hand's fingertips over the other man's lips gently and earning a soft huff from the raven. As he spoke, his voice was hushed and low, perfectly suited to the oddly tender moment they had going on.  
"The hallelujah trail", he explained, his lips almost close enough to touch Sasuke's as he spoke, "That's what an old friend used to call it." Giving a significant look down at Sasuke's hand the blonde shook his head again, the smile still in place as he relaxed, nudging his hips a bit to get the other man moving again.

Nothing else was said as Sasuke for once did as told, his fingers slowly wrapping around Naruto's erection and starting to stroke it slowly, drawing soft moans out of the younger man. They were quickly muffled by Sasuke, his tongue sliding easily between Naruto's lips and claiming access to his mouth. He caught the moans with delight, only to be thrown a bit off balance as the blonde suddenly got a lot more aggressive, pushing back against his tongue with his own and carefully pulling Sasuke's hand away from his arousal.

Taking a moment to calm down again, he reached down to kick off his clothing completely before returning to the kiss, his both hands now in Sasuke's hair. The kiss was gaining in heat again, getting more sloppy and desire-filled as the blonde rolled himself on top of the other man despite the protests of his shoulder, grinding down against the raven's groin again and pulling out another moan. It was still so much slower than many of his fucks in the brothels where the girls were just meant to satisfy his desire and do nothing else, and it was taking quite a lot to keep his hips at the slow pace. It was easy to tell that Sasuke was starting to get into it too, his hips moving with Naruto's with ease and even urging him to move faster, trying to pick up the pace on their own. Smirking a bit as he pushed himself up on his elbows so he could look down at the raven, Naruto pressed his hips down and totally still, the irritated glare making him just chuckle again.

Planting small kisses on the corner of Sasuke's mouth and his neck, the blonde waited until the other man had stopped struggling and given up the control before starting to move again, this time a bit harder and faster than before, immediately drawing out the first low moan. The sound made his gut cramp as the arousal curled inside him, more blood pumping into his cock as he ground it against the fabric of Sasuke's union suit, totally hating the material. He paused again and reached down to tug at the fabric and this time the raven didn't protest. The blankets had slid off completely as Naruto silently pulled off the fabric, giving the other man's legs a long look before actually daring to look up at the erect member that stood in front of him between the two strong thighs. The blood made it so much darker than the glowing almost white skin around it and the blonde found himself swallowing thickly before looking up at Sasuke, meeting the dark observing eyes.

Heavy silence hung upon them like a blanket or a thunder cloud, neither of them wanting to break it and possibly do something to the mood that rested around them at the moment. It was too tender, too intimate to be ruined with any more talking and slowly Naruto nodded, sliding back up against Sasuke's frame and pulling the blanket along, his breath catching as his arousal brushed against Sasuke's. The body underneath his twitched a little and the corner of Naruto's mouth curled up a notch as he started moving once more, his body fitting perfectly against Sasuke's. He kept his eyes open, observing that beautiful face resting on a bundle of clothing that served as a pillow for now, and again he clearly saw why he had thought the raven was so beautiful in the first place.

Despite looking clearly masculine now, Sasuke still had almost delicate features that were truly visible when he wasn't scowling at something or looking like there was something rotten under his nose. His black lashes threw shadows on his cheekbones and his lips were full and swollen from their slow passionate kisses, parted just a little as he breathed fast, his breath hitching every now and then when Naruto managed to touch him in a good angle. His eyes were almost closed and his hair framed his face perfectly, the slight flush on his face making him even more beautiful. It was almost painful, how perfect Sasuke was in a moment like this, and when the man finally opened his eyes and Naruto saw his own desire and need replicating in the dark depths he lost it, leaning his head on Sasuke's shoulder and starting to really grind down against the man, the small noises that fell from those sinful lips just encouraging him to go further with it.

His breath was nothing but hard and fast panting, the pleasure coursing through him and threatening to take over as the man kept moving, delighted with the way Sasuke moved with him, the long fingers gripping his hair and running down his back, looking for something to hold onto. It was sweet and addicting, chasing all coherent thoughts out of Naruto's head as he gritted his teeth and squeezed his eyes shut. It was piling up and becoming harder and harder to handle, his control slipping dangerously as his erection rubbed against Sasuke's with every move they made, the repeated sensation making him shudder and groan.

It happened without a proper warning. Something tightened in his stomach and before Naruto could do anything to stop it, the orgasm grabbed him and dragged him along, smearing Sasuke's stomach and Naruto's too. A low moan was drawn from the blonde's lips and he stilled completely, still panting roughly as he let himself dwell in the perfect feeling of satisfaction for a little while. His skin felt hot all over and as he shifted slightly the feel of his almost oversensitive cock brushing against Sasuke's still hard one made him draw in a sharp breath, a tiny whine escaping his lips.

The feeling that someone was watching him finally caught the man and with a sigh he forced himself to get a grip again. He was feeling good and relaxed but it wasn't enough to make him forget completely. Lifting his head, Naruto caught the dark eyes and immediately registered the observing look in them, relief flooding through him. Smiling down at the other man, the blonde pressed his forehead against Sasuke's, keeping his eyes on him as he wrapped his now slightly sticky fingers around the other's arousal. He took great satisfaction in seeing the dark eyes become dilated and flutter shut at the simple touch and as he started moving his hand the way Sasuke's face reflected the fight between clinging to the control and letting go of it left the blonde speechless. He closed his eyes too, not wanting to watch it. It felt too intrusive, the brief moment the dark eyes had been open had shown too much raw emotion, much more than he could take without falling into it himself as well, and Naruto really couldn't afford falling any harder than he already had.

With his eyes still shut the blonde smiled a little and pressed his lips against Sasuke's, keeping his hand moving as he pried the raven's lips open and gently forced his tongue inside. The choked groan he got in return was almost enough of a reward by itself and the way the other man threw himself into the kiss was just a nice, though huge, bonus. Naruto could almost taste the raven's frustration, the need that undoubtedly was building up in his just like it had done in himself just a while ago, and he let his hand speed up. It seemed that Sasuke had lost the fight, the carefully crafted armor that usually hid his feelings from the world crumbling and finally disappearing as he moaned again, his back arching and his hips bucking into Naruto's hand desperately, seeking for release. It was intoxicating, seeing the man react like that, and without giving it a thought he ran his thumb over the head of Sasuke's penis, making the man's breath hitch.

Smiling still, Naruto pulled back just a little, trailing kisses down Sasuke's cheek to his neck where he remained, just breathing against the raven's skin as he concentrated on bringing the other man over the edge. He could practically hear it in the way Sasuke was breathing, his movements were becoming sharper and faster as he clung to the blonde, letting out a choked, almost inaudible cry as he finally stilled, something warm messing Naruto's hand. Instinctively the blonde wrapped his free arm around Sasuke as well, holding him close for a long while. They remained silent, just breathing heavily in the silence and the blonde kept his nose against the other man's neck, drawing in his scent and trying to memorize it, even for a little while. Sasuke's body felt tense and sweaty against his and he sighed, pressing another kiss on the raven's skin, keeping his lips there for a good while as he rubbed the slim shoulder with one hand, the other still pressed between their bodies.

Slowly, almost painfully so Sasuke finally started to relax, his arms finally losing the death grip they'd had of Naruto and the raven let out a long breath, barely holding onto anything anymore. His eyes remained closed as he let his breathing go stable again, but when Naruto shifted a little and lifted his head again the raven opened his eyes as well, meeting Naruto's gaze. The look in the dark eyes was an odd mix of softness and something much harder, more determined, and Sasuke lifted his head, bringing it close to Naruto's face as though to touch his cheek. Instead he seemed to change his mind and grabbed the blond hair, pulling Naruto down for a quick kiss.

It was unexpected for sure and for a moment Naruto was at a loss of words, his body tensing a little on top of Sasuke. Then, with a sigh, he gave in and smiled into the kiss, rolling off the other man once the kiss finally broke. He didn't let go of the raven though, no, he kept the other man close to him the whole time, pressing one more kiss on his lips before running his fingers through the ruffled black hair and smiling softly as he watched Sasuke's eyes fall shut.


End file.
